Pentagon Must Help Jobless Vets Translate Skills: Report

The Pentagon and Labor Department must become “more adept” at translating military experience into marketable skills to help veterans find work, according to a report by a Washington-based research group.

The Center for a New American Security said many civilian employers continue to struggle to understand how veterans’military experience would equip them for private-sector work.

About 12.7 percent of veterans who served in the military since 2001 were unemployed last month, compared with a jobless rate of 7.7 percent for all non-veterans. The nation’s total unemployment rate was 8.2 percent.

In the report issued today, the center urged federal agencies to seek public-private partnerships with U.S. companies and nonprofit groups that specialize in veterans issues to help smooth the transition from military service to private employment.

It also urged the Defense Department to improve its Transition Assistance Program, which is offered to service members as they leave the military.

The report was based on interviews with 87 representatives from 69 companies