We Can't Wait: Obama Administration Announces New Initiatives to Get Veterans Back to Work
Having served and defended our nation, veterans are well-trained, highly skilled and will add value to any company. But today's veterans face unique challanges. As of October, over 850,000 veterans were unemployed and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent. And as we end the war in Iraq and wind down the war in Afghanistan, over one million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016. The President also announced a series of executive actions that will provide new resources for veterans to translate military experience to the private job market, give veterans additional career development support and better identify firms looking to hire veterans.
These initiatives include:
Veteran Gold Card: Effective today, Post-9/11 veterans will be able download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced services including six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling, at the roughly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country. This could help serve the more than 200,000 unemployed Post-9/11 veterans. The President directed the Department of Labor to launch this initiative in his August 5, 2011 speech at the Navy Yard.
My Next Move for Veterans: The Department of Labor will launch My Next Move for Veterans, a new online resource that allows veterans to enter their military occupation code and discover civilian occupations for which they are well qualified. The site will also include information about salaries, apprenticeships, and other related education and training programs.
Creating a Veterans Job Bank: Starting Monday, the Administration will launch the Veterans Job Bank, at National Resource Directory, an easy to use tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them. It already searches over 500,000 job postings and is growing. In a few easy steps, companies can make sure the job postings on their own websites are part of this Veterans Job Bank.
All of these services can also be accessed by visiting www.whitehouse.gov/vets.
Operation Homecoming – The National Endowment for the Arts created Operation Homecoming in 2004 to help U.S. troops and their families write 
about their wartime experiences. Through this program, some of America’s most distinguished writers have conducted workshops at military installations and contributed to educational resources to help the troops and their families share their stories.
Joining Forces – Joining Forces is a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. Resources include employment, education and wellness.
