The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it is awarding grants equaling over $5 million to provide U.S. Veterans job training that will set them up with the opportunity for successfully finding civilian careers. The funds are earmarked to provide for homeless female Veterans and Veterans with families.
The DOL Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) who “serves America’s Veterans and separating service members by preparing them for meaningful careers, providing employment resources and expertise, and protecting their employment rights” estimates that some 1,900 Veterans will benefit from this award.
The 22 grants, awarded under the department’s Homeless Female Veterans and Veterans with Families Program, are representative of the DOL’s continued commitment to serving the whole U.S. Veterans population by helping them to find employment and gain the skills necessary to enter the civilian workforce.
According to the DOL, the grants are to be used to set up services that “include job placement, on-the-job and classroom training, career counseling, life skills and money management mentoring, as well as help in finding housing.”
Awarded on a competitive basis to grantees who have a successful track record of effective homeless Veteran program administration, the funds will be disbursed to state and local workforce investment boards, local public agencies and NPOs, including faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs).
In a statement issued by the DOL Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez said of the funds: “These grants will offer the opportunity for a better life, providing the training and skills needed to find a job and housing. Our veterans have sacrificed for our nation, and job training programs offer them a path to participation in society and success in the workplace.”
KRA Corporation agrees with the Secretary’s sentiments and we believe that the plight of our Veterans is an important priority in public workforce policy, perhaps second only to youth employment programming.
As advocates for our Veterans in the workforce, KRA highlighted and lauded another effort by the DOL and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, aimed at helping eligible Veterans return to the workforce in a recent post.
Given the scope of the targeted Veteran group that these funds are serving, KRA Corporation commends this new initiative, and as ever, remains dedicated to developing workers, especially those as deserving as our Veterans.
KRA Corporation looks forward to the successful implementation of this initiative, as well as watching it strengthen the communities in which we live. We applaud the efforts of those agencies involved in preparing our Veteran jobseekers for tomorrow’s global economy and providing the opportunity for a better life.
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
