Staggering veteran unemployment rates following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the scandals involving the Veterans Health Administration in 2014 tarnished the reputation of the government’s treatment of America’s former servicemen, but now a government agency and a major U.S. industry are teaming up on a new program to link returning vets with employers.
The Department of Energy announced this week a joint initiative with other government agencies and major energy trade associations to recruit, train and employ veterans, their spouses and those transitioning from service to civilian life. The program would provide jobs in the energy industry, which is expected to need some 1.5 million new workers by 2030, according to the Quadrennial Energy Review.
The Utility Industry Workforce Initiative is the latest effort by the Departments of Energy and Defense to link veterans to jobs in a rapidly expanding energy sector, a sector that has struggled to fill skilled slots for new workers.
“Our industry is facing significant retirements of our existing workforce, and we are working together to develop solutions and approaches to identify a talented, high-skilled, and innovative industry workforce for the future,” said Tom Kuhn, president of the Washington-based Edison Electric Institute, a partner in the new jobs initiative. “The leadership abilities, mission focus, commitment to safety, and team orientation that military service members consistently demonstrate are exactly the skills our industry needs in its workers.”
The Obama administration is beefing up a plan rolled out by the president in April with the goal of training 75,000 people, many of them veterans, to enter the solar power industry by 2020. He also announced the launch of a program that would train transitioning service personnel at 10 military bases across the country to join an expanding solar industry.
This “Solar Ready Vets” initiative is “one of the many steps we’re taking to help nearly 700,000 [service members,] veterans and military spouses get a job,” President Obama said.
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Last month, the overall veteran unemployment rate rose from 4.7 percent to 5 percent, which is only marginally better than the national rate of 5.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the real gains came from post-9/11 veterans, who saw unemployment drop from 6.9 percent in April to 5.4 percent in May. This is a huge success considering post-9/11 veteran unemployment was at a whopping 12.4 percent in 2011.
The Utility Industry Workforce Initiative will include the participation from the Departments of Energy, Defense, Veterans Affairs and Labor, as well as private-sector trade groups that include the Edison Electric Institute, the Center for Energy Workforce Development, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the American Gas Association.
Approximately 200,000 veterans leave the military each year, putting pressure on American companies to ease them back into the workforce.
“We are honored to assist these dedicated men and women with education and ongoing career development, and to welcome them into our member companies and communities as we work to deliver America’s energy future,” said President and CEO Dave McCurdy of the American Gas Association, one of the organizations involved in the partnership.
• Brennan Weiss can be reached at bweiss@washingtontimes.com.
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