November 17, 2009 by admin.

By Rick Maze - Staff writer

Posted : Monday Nov 16, 2009 20:33:34 EST

The monthly living stipend, tied to local housing costs, makes attending college more affordable for people using the new education benefits program. A veterans’ bill passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 2 and a bill introduced in the Senate try to use the same idea for job training.The House-passed veterans’ training bill, HR 1168, would pay a living stipend for up to six months to veterans taking part in a Labor Department retraining program that is aimed at veterans who have been unemployed for four months or longer. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., the chief sponsor of what is being called the Veterans Retraining Act of 2009, said living stipends would range from $275 to $2,800 a month and would be based, like GI Bill living stipends, on the military’s basic allowance for housing for an E-5 without dependents.Boozman’s bill also includes $5,000 for moving expenses, if needed, for veterans who complete the training and get a new job.Three senators, Democrats Patty Murray of Washington and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Republican Mike Johanns of Nebraska, introduced a bill that would add job training and apprenticeships to the types of education covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.“When our soldiers sign up for service, there isn’t a waiting line and there shouldn’t be a waiting line when they come home and need a job,” said Klobuchar, the chief sponsor. “Not every returning soldier chooses to go to college, but they still want a job. Job training, from pipe-fitting to law enforcement, should be covered by the G.I. Bill.”The measure, S 2769, would cover job training either in combination with a regular college curriculum or as separate programs.Specifically, a veteran enrolled in on-the-job training or an apprenticeship program could use his GI Bill benefits to receive a monthly living stipend, plus pay for certification and testing fees, relocation and travel expenses, and tutors.For the first six months of on-the-job training or an apprenticeship, the living stipend would be 75 percent of the basic allowance for housing for an E-5 without dependents. That would drop to 55 percent for the second six months and to 35 percent for the remainder of any training.The Montgomery GI Bill — the predecessor of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and which remains in effect — covers vocational and on-the-job training and apprenticeships but does not pay a living stipend or the $1,200 for tutors, as the newer program does.Murray said in a statement that the new GI Bill, which took effect Aug. 1, helps a lot of veterans, but it doesn’t help everyone: “Too many of our veterans have served our country only to come home to unemployment and financial struggles. The G.I. Bill the president signed this year opened the doors to higher education for veterans, but in these tough economic times we need to expand that opportunity to include jobs skills and work force training.”The Labor Department reports that 18 percent of veterans who left the service in the past three years are unemployed, about twice the overall national unemployment rate.

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

November 12, 2009 by admin.

By Alex M. Parker aparker@govexec.com November 9, 2009President Obama on Monday signed an executive order designed to boost the number of veterans in the federal workforce.The directive creates Veterans Employment Program offices in federal agencies, to match veterans with job openings and help them navigate the application process. The offices also will give veterans guidance on how to adjust to civilian life after they are hired.”This initiative is about more than repaying our debt for their courageous service and selfless sacrifice,” Obama said. “It’s also about continuing to fill the ranks of federal employees with men and women who possess the skills, dedication and sense of duty that Americans deserve from their public servants. And few embody those qualities like our nation’s veterans.”In addition, the executive order establishes a Council on Veterans Employment, to be chaired by the secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs. It requires the Office of Personnel Management to develop a strategic plan in consultation with other agencies, such as the Defense, Homeland Security, Labor and Veterans Affairs departments.The order comes as the number of military members re-entering civilian life is ballooning.OPM Director John Berry has emphasized the hiring of veterans, saying government should take a more proactive role in recruiting former military members and preserve veterans preference during the selection process.”We are going to honor our veterans and increase their employment in our domestic agencies,” Berry said during Government Executive’s Excellence in Government conference in July.The percentage of veterans in the federal workforce has increased just slightly in recent years. According to the Office of Personnel Management’s most recent report, it rose 0.5 points from 25 percent in fiscal 2003 to 25.5 percent in fiscal 2007.Veterans groups and some managers praised Obama’s order.”The federal government is really no different than any business when it comes to hiring quality people,” said Joe Davis, spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars. “They want educated, responsible and motivated people who are loyal to the company and to each other. With the boomer generation beginning to retire en masse, it just makes good business sense for the federal government to do whatever it can to recognize and recruit this talented pool of job-ready employees.”Pat Niehaus, Federal Managers Association chapter president and labor relations officer at Travis Air Force Base in California, said having an agency contact could be valuable to veterans re-entering civilian life.”In so many agencies, [the hiring process] is so computerized,” Niehaus said. “If they had someone to help, I think it would be very beneficial to them. The civilian world is significantly different from the military world.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »