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City Program Helps Veterans Find Employment
By Katherine Heerbrandt, Staff Writer Gazetter.net
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December 8, 2005
U.S. military veterans have another resource when it comes to receiving training to find jobs.
Maryland is one of 15 states to receive federal grant money through the Veterans Workforce Investment Program, which was initiated in late 2004. Administered through Operation New Start at the Way Station in Frederick, the program has helped 11 county veterans and 37 other Maryland veterans find training and employment.
The average wage per placement is $11 an hour, $2 an hour above the goal for the program, according to Bob Simpson, a retired U.S. Marine and veterans program manager. Simpson managed similar programs in San Diego, and is a relatively new hire at the Way Station.
Denise Jefferson of the Business Employment Center of Frederick works closely with Operation New Start to line up qualified veterans with hands-on job training. The program’s grant of $463,146 provides roughly $2,700 per eligible veteran for job training, and it must be completed before June 2006.
‘‘We don’t do degree programs because time is a factor,” she said.
Seventeen veterans, men and women, ranging in age 35 to 60, enrolled in the program this past year. Most find training at Frederick Community College, Accutech, or via online computer courses.
Their training choices range learning to drive an 18-wheeler to obtaining a real estate license.
Depending on training received in the military, some veterans need little more to earn a certification or license in the civilian world, like a practical nurse or cook, according to Larry Mettert with the U.S. Department of Labor. Mettert is based out of Frederick’s Employment Center.
Others were trained for jobs in the military that do not have a civilian component. For many soldiers, the military life was their first real job out of high school.
‘‘There are not many jobs around for someone who was a machine gunner in Iraq,” Simpson said.
Another component of the program is on-the-job training. The program will pay half the veteran’s salary for 90 days, with the promise of ongoing employment after those 90 days. Jefferson said she looks for on-the-job training mostly in the construction trades, carpenters, plumbers and electricians.
Finding local employers to participate has not been easy, Simpson said. Filling out the paperwork can be daunting for employers. Another barrier to on-the-job training for employers is that they have to commit to keeping the veteran in a job after three months, Jefferson said.
‘‘Another reason it is not so successful may be that people don’t know about it. We don’t push it a lot,” she said.
The Veterans Workforce Investment Program was designed to give veterans better employment opportunities, and at the same time not overlap with existing programs, including the GI Bill. The GI Bill, which will pay for all or a portion of a college degree, must be used within 10 years of separation from the armed services.
Nationally, Maryland ranks in the top 15 states for the number of veterans who find and keep jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
For information on the workforce program and other veterans’ employment programs, visit www.dol.gov/vets, or call the Way Station at 301-662-0099.
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