On this past Veterans Day, there was an interesting piece by Cory Johnson on Bloomberg West regarding veterans being hired in the tech world. Unemployment rate for veterans ages 18 -24 is over 30%, according to the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Chairman’s Staff report. Since many younger veterans join the military directly from high school, they often lack college education or other, non-military work experience. This lack of civilian higher education and experience coupled with the tumultuous economy has driven these unemployment rates to never before seen levels.
Recent federal acts, like the Post-9/11 GI Bill, provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service after September 10, 2001. The Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 expands education and training opportunities for Veterans, and provides tax credits for employers who hire Veterans with service-connected disabilities. For those veterans who served in the Reserve or National Guard, federal laws like Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides protections of civilian jobs while activated, including job entitlements, employer obligations, benefits and remedies.
Some Silicon Valley area companies have actively sought out and recruited veterans with some technology experience. One company, Vets in Tech, not only seeks tech-savvy vets, but veterans who have “shown an interest and aptitude for working in the tech industry,” and offers extensive programs to assist veterans in technology-related education, entrepreneurship and employment placement, working to train, match and place vets in a number of companies.
As we approach 2013 we continue to face a huge number of economic challenges. It’s encouraging that the government has some basic assistance available for military veterans and that some element of the private sector acknowledges the value and potential in these young Americans.
