For America’s 18.5 million veterans, the complexities, challenges, and difficulties of navigating civilian life after military service start the day that they return home. Veterans currently comprise about 7 percent of America’s civilian adult population and a significant portion of the labor force. Their journeys in post-service employment and careers are often complicated by service-related trauma, disconnects between military skills and civilian job opportunities, and cultural differences between military and civilian life.

Research on veteran transitions paints a sobering picture of post-service employment outcomes, especially for enlisted personnel. Upon re-entering civilian life, 63 percent find themselves underemployed. Forty percent are affected by PTSD and self-harm, 35 percent have issues with alcohol, and 44 percent experience financial stress. For many veterans, service-related trauma results in psychological challenges severe enough to affect their ability to complete employment-training programs, to secure a job, and to sustain employment. Alongside post-service trauma, one in four veterans also have a service-related disability, further limiting or complicating work and careers.

To support exiting service members, the Department of Defense operates a mandatory Transition Assistance Program (TAP) that prepares transitioning veterans for civilian employment. Engagement in TAP begins 6 months prior to separation and includes career fairs, career coaching, skills-matching guidance, and job search assistance. Unfortunately, TAP program offerings drop significantly after exit from service and little is known about the effectiveness of the services it offers. Some studies suggest that TAP is difficult to navigate and leaves significant gaps between veteran needs and TAP services.

Onward to Opportunity (O2O), a program developed and administered by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, has stepped into these gaps to provide ongoing employment preparation, mock interviews, salary negotiation skills training, and long-term mentoring support. O2O also helps connect veterans and their families to employers, education, and other community-based services to ease the transition to employment and life in civilian society. Research has shown that veterans using O2O, and other non-governmental programs like it, are 29 percent more likely to find employment. Participants were also more likely to be promoted and secure wage increases. Where programs included job-search skills and assistance aimed at helping veterans connect the skills they developed in the military to civilian jobs, participants were up to twice as likely to advance in their careers by securing new and better job opportunities.

In recognition of the success of non-governmental programs like O2O, Congress recently passed the Onward to Opportunity Act, which would expand investment in public-private partnerships that engage and support veterans throughout their transition experience. This legislation is a worthy effort to acknowledge the sacrifice of those who “have borne the battle” and an important step in binding up the wounds that often linger long after the conflict has ceased.

The post Onward to Opportunity: Standing in the gap for veteran employment appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.