As I filter in and out of classes and seminars at the National Veterans Small Business Conference, I overhear conversations that have a similar thread. Veteran business owners would like to work with fellow Vets and take advantage of hiring incentives, but they don’t know how to find folks to fill their positions, or about incentives that come with hiring service-connected Veterans.
An arm of Vet Success has stepped up to address the first issue. A search portal allows Veterans and businesses to search for VA and non-VA resources that can connect employers with potential employees. And a job board serves as a way to get résumés noticed. A link sidebar on the right lists more websites like Monster to submit a résumé. Employers can also contact their local Voc Rehab office to track down suitable candidates for open positions.
As far as the incentives, employers can expect:
On the Job Training Program
Employer hires Veteran at an apprentice wage and VR&E supplements the salary up the journeyman wage (up to maximum allowable under OJT)Special Employer Incentive Program
This program is used for Veterans facing extraordinary obstacles to employment. A Veteran is placed in an OJT or a work experience with an employer. VR&E can reimburse the employer up to 50 percent of the Veteran’s salary for up to six months. The employer is also eligible for a federal tax credit for hiring an individual who participated in a vocational rehabilitation program.Non-Paid Work Experience Program
A Veteran is placed in a local, state, or Federal government office. The placement does not count against the agency’s FTE and the agency does not pay the Veteran. VR&E pays the Veteran monthly subsistence allowance while the Veteran is participating in the program.
Existing tax benefits range from $2,400 to $9,600 for employers who hire service-connected Veterans.
As jobs and employment continue to be a central focus in the news, it becomes imperative that businesses are reminded about the double-incentive of staffing Veterans. Not only do they possess skills employers need, but they can receive much-needed tax breaks to help grow their company in a time of economic uncertainty.
Topics in this story
More Stories
This 2024 Veterans Day discounts list will continue to be updated as we learn of more nationally available Veterans Day discounts, meals or other ways businesses and organizations want to give back to Veterans.
Here are instructions on the ways to renew your Veteran Health Identification Card.
November marks National Veteran and Military Families Month, highlighted by Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 11. This list of Veterans Day and Veterans Month events is organized by state and will be continuously updated with more events throughout the month.
I am a vet and got denied twice to a valor program at the va to students (all ladies) that were not military. Apparently i learned from other vets that interna dont have vet preferences. That is really disturbing and against the rhetoric that the VA cares and are willing to hire and help vets. This is in tucson by the way
I AM A VETERAN SEEKING EMPLOYMENT ABOUT TO BE HOMELESS.RECENTLY HAD OPERATION NEED JOB NOW TO GET BACK WHAT I HAVE LOSS.
OBJECTIVE
Give my employer a life long commitment of productivity.
EXPERIENCE
Goodyear Incorporated 02/10 – 10/11
Service Advisor 02-10- present
*Averaged 60,000 dollars plus in monthly sales
*Noted for # 1 in customer service
*Daily Open/closing and cash handling
*Customer service of national/local Accounts
Pepsi-co (Frito Lay Corporation) 09/08 – 02-10
Route Sales Representative – Nashville,Tn
*Increased average sales volume from $9,400 – 12,800 weekly
*Upgraded accounts by selling in permanent displays
*Noted for building profit for accounts by an average of 15%
*Maintained 100% compliance with all DOT Regulations
*Winner of Big Rocks competition
Oliver’s Restaurant Went out of business 10/07 – 09/08
General Manager – Odessa, Texas
*Maintain food cost at an average of 27.8%
*Average annual sales at $1,200,000.00
*Controlled a wide range menu for full service, and weight watchers point systems.
*Noted for #1 in customer service managed over 70 personnel.
*Controlled bar/lounge in accordance with TABC regulations.
Downtown Nashville Nissan 05/06 -10/07
Sales Consultant- Nashville, Tn,
* Handled all aspects of customer service and vehicle maintenance.
* Recognized by Dealer for salesman of the Month 5 times.
* Maximized new business through internet and commercial sales.
* Referral business to satisfied consumers.
* Maintained a score of 98.6% in customer satisfaction evaluations
Jim Reed Chevrolet 08/04 -05/06
Sales Consultant – Nashville, Tn
* Handled all aspects of customer service and vehicle maintenance.
* Recognized for top Salesman of the month 4 times.
* Responsible for winning 10000 dollar top team sales award
* Top referral business to satisfied consumers.
* Establish sales partnership with Fort Campbell, Military Base.
K & W Cafeteria 12/01 – 08/04
General Manager- Fayetteville, North Carolina
*Coordinated preparation and presentation of food products.
*Managed over 60 personnel, work station and health standards.
*Achieved an overall health inspection rating of 98.5%.
*Handled all hiring, terminations, ordering, stocking, training
*Recognized by business and community for public relations.
*Increased profits annually of 18% with a volume of over 1.8 million dollars
General Electric 10/99 -12/01
Purchasing/Warehouse Manager-Wilmington, North Carolina
* Kept track of all purchasing, warehouse inventory, and maintenance.
*…
I work for a military IT consulting company in the Pentagon called AxHill. We have been studying how to reduce mental trauma and suicides among returning Vets and have concluded putting Vets back to work will be one of the best ways to get our Veteran population back on track and leading positive civilian lives. I know this is all lip service, but we have been working hard at how an online community can better support Vets, an online community that is built with modern Internet technologies available. We are calling the platform VeteranCentral.com and plan to launch at the end of October with the state of Oklahoma and California.
We are looking for Veterans who want to help us test the site before launch and give us ideas/suggestions on how to make the technology effective for helping Vets. We aren’t getting paid to do this, we are using our own company profits to build this, not because we want to make a million dollar business (that would be nice though, we would just give a majority of the profits to Veteran non profits) but because a site like this just needs to be created and we have the expertise to make it happen. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Our tools will directly address the question of Where Do I Find Vets.
PS – William, we are in need of some accounting assistance and would love to have a Vet help us. Please contact us at AxHill.com and we will talk about your services. I hate accounting and taxes!
Man u guys r depressing me! I just want to get back to work! I will graduate frm Tex A. & M. this spring, and hope to be usefull again! Please show me where is the best place fr me to find a good jog to the field of Sociol Research?
AS A VIETNAM ERA VET, MY FIRST EXPOSURE TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE I WAS INFORMED DID NOT QUALIFIED DUE TO RECEIPT OF PAID LEAVE REC’D WHEN ETS’d. NOW again UNEMPLOYED BY DOD, BUT LABOR DEPT HAS ME ON WRKERS COMP NOT SURE CAN QUALIFY. FORTUNATE TO HAVE SAFETY NET THE MIL RETIREMENT AT 22 YRS, tODAY IS 40 YR ENTRYANNIVERSITY, WISH I HAD DONE 30 WOULD BE 75% OF BASE PAY. A GOOD RTN FOR SACRIFICE MADE; COLD, DANGER, FAMILY SEPERATION. This subject is just going to get WORSE. threat of no more retirement at 20, 401K IDEA, Down size of MILITARY Force RESULTING IN ADDITIONAL new unemployed population, and than those unable to join the service. An additional larger unemployed population. Retention of talented added to unexperience work forces and unemployment rolls. This added to poor economy will only added to Americas Woes and potentialfor economical collapse. Maybe being 60 years old is more fortunate than not.
WHO SAID THIS??????????? Here I am, and don’t offer me a minimum-wage, burger-flipping job!
“I Want to Hire Veterans. Now, Where Are They?”
There are over 90 Fortune 500 employers and federal agencies in the Milicruit virtual career fair environment. You can login, visit employer booths, view/apply for jobs, and chat with recruiters in the comfort and convenience of your home. http://www.veteranscareerfair.com
I will add that the only solution is for the government to “ACTUALLY Enforce”
Veterans Preference in hiring, and not just give people the classic “lip service” to Veterans preference. Being a Veteran should be an advantage in hiring, and it is currently such an enormous disadvantage, many Vets dont even list their military service on their resume, as military service reduces the chances they will be hired.
Some unspinning of the facts are necessary here. Fact: Veterans are more likely to be unemployed and/or homeless than their civilian counter parts.
The question is “why”, in light of “Veterans Preference” in hiring. The biggest reason is that both civilian and government employers “work around” Veteran’s preference in hiring, so that they can hire their civilian counterparts and leave Vets out. One of the VA’s “work arounds” is to not post a “hiring announcement” but instead list the job as a “promotion announcement”. The difference is that there is no Vet preference in promotions only NEW HIRES. The end result is the VA hires non Vets, and keeps Veterans homeless and unemployed. Then the VA has a stream of new government programs, which are largely “honey pots” for their preferred politically powerful contractors, to “help Veterans” get jobs. The whole thing is a sham to get money for government contractors.
There are also other avenues to find veteran employee candidates. Many veteran organizations are essentially networks of these folks. For instance, Student Veterans of America (www.studentveterans.org) is a network of student veterans currently pursuing a college education. These folks graduate and will be looking for work. There are opportunities for employers to tap into this network for potential careers and internships.
As a side note, the quote from the article, “As far as incentives employers can expect:…Existing tax benefits range from $2,400 to $9,600 for employers who hire service-connected Veterans” sounds like a reference to the President’s proposed “Veterans Employment Initiative”. This proposal is just that, and therefore would not be an incentive unless it becomes law. Thus, I believe this particular item is not factual and warrants a correction or qualification.
“As far as incentives employers can expect:…Existing tax benefits range from $2,400 to $9,600 for employers who hire service-connected Veterans” – This is in fact exactly what you said; a proposal. Please tighten up your fact checking before posting things like this as it may have detrimental effects for vets trying to find work right now. Thanks for all you guys do.
Its a shame that none of these benifits the business recieves for hiring the veteran in the first place are passed along as increased pay to thank the veteran for choosing the employer. They just pocket the money, and then can fire the veteran. They should be forced to retain the veteran for some minumum mandatory time with increased pay… pocketing 50% of the money they have all of a sudden become entitled to because some new employees service to the country certainly seems like an Obama plan, its highway robery under a banner of ‘We Support Our Troops”. Call it what you want but everybody, including veterans are loosing… the trillions already ‘borrowed’ from the people and given to Big Business apparantly just wasn’t enough. Take a look around… do you see 14 trillion dollars worth of anything out your window? No. I didnt think so. This law should require businesses to hire veterans at an increased pay salary… what better way would there be to thank them for their service to the country than to give employers the tax cuts necessary to give service connected veterans all well paying jobs? They would still have the same great new-hire veteran employees with the same great skill set, only they’d also be even more eager to work and excell in thier new civilian job! Higher salaries = happier workers = better performance = better business. Its a win-win-win.
You taxes ‘pay’ for government. The government ‘pay’ the employer. The employer doesn’t pay the worker any extra?? Its just another way to take from the taxpayer to give to the businessman.
A penny saved is a penny earned afterall. Why should the vet be earning, he’s doing the job… he was in the service. This has military written all over it and the only person getting nothing is the one that was in the military. Sad, just really really sad.
I would like to find a company that wants veterans but it is hard to find those resources. I have 45 years of business and accounting background and have retired but cannot find good jobs for someone who is retired and can still contribute greatly.
I can hit the ground running but it is hard to make those contacts.
You know, when I came back from Vietnam, for years I couldn’t put down I was a Vet! I love my country, even though my country and leaders don’t love or
respect us.