Connecting Veterans to long-term careers

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Editor’s Note: The following blog post is a Department of Labor contribution.

As of November 2018, the current Veteran unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, down from 12.1 percent in 2011. While Veterans are finding jobs, which is great, entering into meaningful careers with promising future prospects still demands attention. To address this barrier and help connect Veterans with employers focused on providing careers, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the congressionally-mandated HIRE Vets Medallion Award Program to recognize employers that are committed not just to hiring Veterans, but retaining them in meaningful, family-sustaining careers.

In 2018, DOL rolled out a successful program demonstration, and Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta recognized 239 large, medium, and small companies that qualified for the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration Award. These companies came from 44 states, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and collectively they hired more than 8,350 Veterans in 2017.

What sets HIRE Vets Medallion recipients apart is that they understand the challenges that Veterans face when entering the workforce, how to address them, and how to help Veterans succeed.

There are many Veteran employment-related awards, lists, and rankings. However, the sheer diversity of organizations and criteria make it overwhelming for Veterans (and others) to differentiate between the employers committed to providing jobs and the employers committed to providing meaningful, long-term careers. The HIRE Vets Medallion Award is the only federal Veterans’ employment award that recognizes employers’ commitment to Veteran hiring, retention, and professional development—and it carries

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