Veteran and military spouse employment a priority across VA  

Employing Veterans and military spouses at VA is a large part of our mission to serve transitioning service members, Veterans and their families. According to the Office of Personnel Management, Veterans make up more than 30 percent of the federal workforce. While the current unemployment rate for Veterans is 2.4 percent, the unemployment rate for military spouses is a staggering 22 percent.

Transitioning service members, Veterans and military spouses, survivors, caregivers and other family members should view VA as their employer of choice. Across the federal government, VA should lead other agencies to follow suit and hire those who are so committed to service.

When VA provides a stable career for a military spouse or transitioning service member, it creates financial security for the entire family, and helps to overcome mental health, homelessness, food insecurity and caregiving challenges often faced in the Veteran community. Ultimately, a career in VA introduces the Veteran or spouse to all the services VA offers.

Recently, VA launched the Veteran and Military Spouse Talent Engagement Program (VMSTEP) led by Executive Director Cheryl Mason.

“We are focused on making VA the employer of choice for Veteran and military spouses, survivors, caregivers and family members,” Mason said. “We do this by supporting administrations and staff offices with outreach and marketing about hiring events, facilitating and encouraging hiring events with our external partners, and providing training to hiring managers on all the hiring authorities available to them.”

Recruit, hire and retain

VMSTEP works to train and support our VA colleagues to recruit, hire and retain these heroes as well as build our internal and external partnerships to raise awareness and visibility of what VA is doing in this space.

To recruit Veterans and military spouses, VMSTEP is collaborating with VA to coordinate and participate in job fairs for transitioning service members, Veterans, military spouses, survivors and caregivers. In addition, VA is looking at a wide variety of workforce solutions that are portable, hybrid and flexible, which allows military spouses to continue their career during relocations and support military readiness. Through the vast experience, perspective, education and talent, all federal agencies need to be mindfully aware and culturally competent what Veterans, military spouses, survivors and caregivers can bring to their agency. VA’s mission embodies caring for those who shall have borne the battle and for their widow and orphan.

To retain and promote Veterans at higher rates, VA must first fully embrace inclusivity, diversity, equity and access what hiring, retaining and promoting Veterans brings. Veterans, military spouses, survivors, caregivers and their family members are all heroes. They bring the talent, experience, perspective, background, loyalty and understanding to VA to best serve their fellow heroes.

Partnerships

VA is strengthening our existing partnership and creating new relationships by establishing a VMSTEP partnership consortium. VA is a part of the DoD Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), advertising open positions that MSEP highlights at hiring fairs and events. VA has a long-standing partnership with U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service, which has many Veteran and military spouse employment initiatives. VA has a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program to drive military spouse employment in the federal workplace and collaborate with other federal agencies.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden established the White House Joining Forces Initiative to oversee the impact of the Federal Military Spouse Non-Competitive Hiring Authority. The Federal Military Spouse Non-Competitive Hiring Authority strongly encourages agencies to provide greater opportunities for military spouses and allows agencies to appoint certain military spouses without using traditional competitive examining procedures. VMSTEP is also reaching out and working to collaborate with its VA partners in the administration and staff offices.

Learn more by visiting the VMSTEP website or contact Cheryl Mason at cheryl.mason@va.gov.