NATIONAL VETERANS EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION DIVISION

BRIEFING

National Veterans Employment and Education Division

The National Veterans Employment & Education Division

The Veterans Employment & Education Commission is responsible for ensuring

that America’s veterans have the opportunity to provide with honor and

dignity, the economic necessities of life for themselves and their families.

The National Veterans Employment & Education Division

• Education• Employment• Veterans Preference• Small Business• Homeless Veterans• Licensing and

Certification• Training & Counseling

EDUCATIONThe servicemen’s readjustment act of 1944 (original GI Bill) drafted

by The American Legion and passed by Congress.

In Partnership With:

• National Assoc of Veteran Program Administrators

• Western Assoc of Veterans Education Specialists

• Post Secondary Education Institutions & Associations

• State Approving Agencies• Congressional Staff• Federal Agencies

Legion Posts on College Campuses

• The first American Legion Post on a college campus was Post 360 at Indiana University –Purdue

• Cultivating this kinship is essential to helping student veterans succeed academically and in life- Post 360 Commander

• There are currently 14 Legion Posts on college campuses.

• Each year more Posts on College Campuses are being created.

Pending Legislation

• Higher Education Act Among the issues that likely will be included in the final bill are affordability and college costs;

access, persistence and completion; better information for consumers; student loan programs; accreditation and oversight; innovation; and the burden of federal regulations.

• NDAA The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 is the comprehensive

legislation to authorize the budget authority of the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy

• SCRA / Student Loans The SCRA provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active duty in

the military, or deployed service members. Protects against such obligations as: Outstanding credit card debt, Mortgage payments, Pending

trials, Taxes, Terminations of lease.

• STEM Education Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

EMPLOYMENT

"want somebody who's going to get the job done, hire a veteran." - President Barack Obama

Employment Data (July 2015)

• National unemployment rate – 5.1%

• OEF / OIF veterans – 5.0%

• Women veterans – 7%

• Veterans of all eras – 4.3%

• 190,000 OEF /OIF veterans are unemployed (501,000 veterans overall)

*source BLS

JOB FAIRS

• Since 2007 the American Legion has sponsored, participated or held on average 100 job fairs per year.

• The US Chamber of Commerce(USCC), through their Hiring our Heroes(HOH) division, will be hosting 46 events in 2015

•The Department of Defense has hosted 9 job fairs in 2015

• Over 24,000 veterans, service members, and spouses have obtained employment through our initiative with the USCC-HOH.

*Source: USCC and VE&E

Department Highlights

• Department of Texas• Held 2 job fairs affiliated with Department of Labor•1 during the state convention, 1 during fall conference

• Department of Illinois •Held 1 job fair affiliated with Department of Labor

• Department of Puerto Rico •Held 1 job fair during the state convention with the US Chamber Hiring our Heroes

• Department of New Jersey •Held 6 job fairs, 3 affiliated with the state of NJ and 3 affiliated with the US Chamber

*Source: USCC and VE&E

Veteran Job Seeker Demographics

• 11.1 % of the veterans who attended our hiring fairs are student veterans about to graduate

• 55.8 % are under 24 years old • 92 % are enlisted and 8 % are

officers • 82 % have been unemployed for

under one year• 18 % have been unemployed for

over one year• 34 % reported some college

15 % reported a bachelor’s degree

2 % reported a masters degree or higher

• Breakdown by Service:

Army 40.7 % Air Force 22.9 % Navy 17.3 % Marine Corps 4.3 % Military Spouse 3.6 % Coast Guard 1.3 %

*Source USCC

National Employer Awards Program

This program pays tribute to those employers across the country who have established outstanding records in the employment and retention of

veterans, workers with disabilities and older workers, and to outstanding members of the state employment security agencies

Employment & Empowerment Summit

This full day of workshops and educational sessions includes opportunities for one-on-one career coaching and résumé

review, corporate panels and benefits discussions. Programs and services specifically designed to help women veterans and spouses will also be available.

Pending Legislations

• Protect VETS Act of 2015• Halt Sec of Labor’s restructuring of DVOP and LVER roles in JVSG Restructuring

• Fairness to Veterans Act of 2015• Extend set-aside contracting in infrastructure repairs to veteran owned small

businesses• VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2015

• Extend and improve WOTC for employers that hire veterans• Incentives for our Nation’s Veterans in Energy Sustainability Technologies

(INVEST) Act of 2015• Extends WOTC eligibility to employers who hire veterans with a certification for

renewable energy technology

CREDENTIALINGThe American Legion credentialing summit of 2015

Credentialing Summit of 2015

• Brought together more than 200 key executives and law makers to focus on best practices for helping veterans.

• Panels of experts from the private sector, non profits, military, federal agencies, and other organizations.

“This summit will be a real learning experience for individuals who are committed to our military community, but may not know what specific steps need to be taken to provide veterans and their spouses with the credentials they need for the civilian work force,” –Verna Jones, Executive Director

VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

A night on Skid Row with LA’s homeless veterans

Veteran Homelessness

Statistics

• 49,933 – homeless veterans

• 33% (or 24,837 people) decline in veteran homelessness since 2010

• 78,000 HUD-VASH vouchers are Women, the fastest growing homeless veteran population

*Source BLS

Veteran Homelessness Statistics Cont.

• 13% of the nation’s homeless population are veterans.

• 20% of the male homeless population are veterans.

• 47% are Vietnam area veterans.

• 89% received an Honorable discharge

• 70% have substance abuse problems

*Source BLS

SMALL BUSINESS“Every Sailor has the potential to lead,” said Mullen, "I don’t care if it’s a seaman

recruit or someone higher ranking than myself. Where there’s a will, there’s a way."Admiral Mike Mullen

Small Business Task Force• Small business task force advisory board – provides guidance to veterans with

obtaining loans, business development, and other assistance.• The American Legion small business task force members have facilitated small

business conferences and training programs, which have served hundreds of veterans and service-disabled veterans over the past several years.

• Task force members have been featured as guest speakers, business experts and hosts of small business workshops.

• Task force members provide guidance on legislative issues pertaining to veterans small business.

Programs and Services:• For Her Entrepreneurship-

Resources, Opportunities, Experiences & Support

• ReBoot to Business• VA Opportunity

Showcase/Small Business Workshop

• VA Verification Counseling • Legion Small Business Video

Tutorial• TAL held 2 business workshops

during winter conference and national convention

ADVOCACY: Small Business

• Ensuring Federal Agencies’ adhere to 3 percent service disabled veterans owned small business utilization goal.

• Increasing the 3 percent goal to 5 percent

• Fairness in federal procurements and contraction practices for veteran small businesses.

• Entrepreneurial programs for veterans are adequately funded.

Questions?

Econ@legion.org