2. The National Veterans Employment &
Education Division
The Veterans Employment & Education
Commission is responsible for ensuring
that America’s veterans have the
opportunity to provide with honor and
dignity, the economic necessities of life for
themselves and their families.
3. The National Veterans Employment &
Education Division
• Education
• Employment
• Veterans Preference
• Small Business
• Homeless Veterans
• Licensing and
Certification
• Training & Counseling
5. In Partnership With:
• National Assoc of Veteran
Program Administrators
• Western Assoc of Veterans
Education Specialists
• Post Secondary Education
Institutions & Associations
• State Approving Agencies
• Congressional Staff
• Federal Agencies
6. Legion Posts on
College Campuses
• The first American Legion Post on a
college campus was Post 360 at
Indiana University –Purdue
• Cultivating this kinship is essential
to helping student veterans succeed
academically and in life- Post 360
Commander
• There are currently 14 Legion Posts
on college campuses.
• Each year more Posts on College
Campuses are being created.
7. Pending Legislation
• Higher Education Act
Among the issues that likely will be included in the final bill are affordability and college costs;
access, persistence and completion; better information for consumers; student loan programs;
accreditation and oversight; innovation; and the burden of federal regulations.
• NDAA
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 is the comprehensive
legislation to authorize the budget authority of the Department of Defense and the national
security programs of the Department of Energy
• SCRA / Student Loans
The SCRA provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active duty in
the military, or deployed service members.
Protects against such obligations as: Outstanding credit card debt, Mortgage payments, Pending
trials, Taxes, Terminations of lease.
• STEM Education
Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
9. Employment Data
(July 2015)
• National unemployment rate – 5.1%
• OEF / OIF veterans – 5.0%
• Women veterans – 7%
• Veterans of all eras – 4.3%
• 190,000 OEF /OIF veterans are
unemployed (501,000 veterans overall)
*source BLS
10. JOB FAIRS
• Since 2007 the American Legion has sponsored,
participated or held on average 100 job fairs per
year.
• The US Chamber of Commerce(USCC), through
their Hiring our Heroes(HOH) division, will be
hosting 46 events in 2015
•The Department of Defense has hosted 9 job fairs in
2015
• Over 24,000 veterans, service members, and
spouses have obtained employment through our
initiative with the USCC-HOH.
*Source: USCC and VE&E
11. Department Highlights
• Department of Texas
• Held 2 job fairs affiliated with Department of
Labor
•1 during the state convention, 1 during fall
conference
• Department of Illinois
•Held 1 job fair affiliated with Department of
Labor
• Department of Puerto Rico
•Held 1 job fair during the state convention
with the US Chamber Hiring our Heroes
• Department of New Jersey
•Held 6 job fairs, 3 affiliated with the state of
NJ and 3 affiliated with the US Chamber
*Source: USCC and VE&E
12. Veteran Job Seeker
Demographics• 11.1 % of the veterans who
attended our hiring fairs are
student veterans about to graduate
• 55.8 % are under 24 years old
• 92 % are enlisted and 8 % are
officers
• 82 % have been unemployed for
under one year
• 18 % have been unemployed for
over one year
• 34 % reported some college
15 % reported a bachelor’s
degree
2 % reported a masters degree
or higher
• Breakdown by Service:
Army 40.7 %
Air Force 22.9 %
Navy 17.3 %
Marine Corps 4.3 %
Military Spouse 3.6 %
Coast Guard 1.3 %
*Source USCC
13. National Employer Awards Program
This program pays tribute to those employers across the country who have
established outstanding records in the employment and retention of
veterans, workers with disabilities and older workers, and to
outstanding members of the state employment security agencies
14. Employment & Empowerment Summit
This full day of workshops and educational sessions includes
opportunities for one-on-one career coaching and résumé
review, corporate panels and benefits discussions.
Programs and services specifically designed to help
women veterans and spouses will also be available.
15. Pending Legislations
• Protect VETS Act of 2015
• Halt Sec of Labor’s restructuring of DVOP and LVER roles in JVSG Restructuring
• Fairness to Veterans Act of 2015
• Extend set-aside contracting in infrastructure repairs to veteran owned small
businesses
• VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2015
• Extend and improve WOTC for employers that hire veterans
• Incentives for our Nation’s Veterans in Energy Sustainability Technologies
(INVEST) Act of 2015
• Extends WOTC eligibility to employers who hire veterans with a certification for
renewable energy technology
17. Credentialing Summit of 2015
• Brought together more than
200 key executives and law
makers to focus on best
practices for helping veterans.
• Panels of experts from the
private sector, non profits,
military, federal agencies, and
other organizations.
“This summit will be a real learning experience for individuals who are
committed to our military community, but may not know what specific steps
need to be taken to provide veterans and their spouses with the credentials
they need for the civilian work force,” –Verna Jones, Executive Director
19. Veteran
Homelessness
Statistics
• 49,933 – homeless veterans
• 33% (or 24,837 people) decline
in veteran homelessness since
2010
• 78,000 HUD-VASH vouchers are
Women, the fastest growing
homeless veteran population
*Source BLS
20. Veteran Homelessness Statistics Cont.
• 13% of the nation’s homeless population are
veterans.
• 20% of the male homeless population are
veterans.
• 47% are Vietnam area veterans.
• 89% received an Honorable discharge
• 70% have substance abuse problems
*Source BLS
21. SMALL BUSINESS
“Every Sailor has the potential to lead,” said Mullen, "I don’t care if it’s a seaman
recruit or someone higher ranking than myself. Where there’s a will, there’s a
way."
Admiral Mike Mullen
22. Small Business Task Force
• Small business task force advisory board – provides guidance to veterans with
obtaining loans, business development, and other assistance.
• The American Legion small business task force members have facilitated small
business conferences and training programs, which have served hundreds of
veterans and service-disabled veterans over the past several years.
• Task force members have been featured as guest speakers, business experts
and hosts of small business workshops.
• Task force members provide guidance on legislative issues pertaining to
veterans small business.
23. Programs and Services:
• For Her Entrepreneurship-
Resources, Opportunities,
Experiences & Support
• ReBoot to Business
• VA Opportunity
Showcase/Small Business
Workshop
• VA Verification Counseling
• Legion Small Business Video
Tutorial
• TAL held 2 business workshops
during winter conference and
national convention
24. ADVOCACY: Small Business
• Ensuring Federal Agencies’ adhere
to 3 percent service disabled
veterans owned small business
utilization goal.
• Increasing the 3 percent goal to 5
percent
• Fairness in federal procurements
and contraction practices for
veteran small businesses.
• Entrepreneurial programs for
veterans are adequately funded.
