Schumer Pushes to Create Vets' Jobs Corps that Could Put Thousands of Unemployed Upstate NY Vets Back to Work - Corps Would Help Translate Military Skills into Job Opportunities in Transportation & Public Works Projects, Construction & More

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced his push to create a Veterans' Jobs Corps to employ veterans across upstate New York in public works projects related to transportation, the protection and conservation of federal lands waters, and other construction work. In addition, the Veterans' Jobs Corps would expand job opportunities for unemployed veterans in public safety positions such as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians. The Veterans' Job Corps Act of 2012 would authorize the federal government to create a Veterans' Job Corps and provide funding to public organizations to establish training programs and provide job opportunities to unemployed veterans. Schumer, a cosponsor of the bill, highlighted that the thousands of unemployed veterans in upstate New York have gained critical skills in the military that would successfully translate to jobs in which they protect America's public domain, federal lands, and communities. Not only would this legislation put unemployed veterans to work for a minimum yearlong enrollment period, the bill also helps decrease maintenance backlogs on federal lands and fill vital first response posts. The Schumer-backed Veterans' Job Corps would allow unemployed veterans to receive necessary training and job opportunities for improving federal infrastructure, erosion control invasive species eradication, and data collection as well as serve as firefighters and law enforcement officers.

"New York's veterans have given their all for our country," said Schumer. "The least we can do is provide our heroes with real job training and employment opportunities when they leave the service, and that is exactly what this Veterans' Jobs Corps sets out to do. Thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines have returned home to civilian life in recent years, and while these talented, hard-working leaders are the perfect candidates for work in New York companies and communities, they often turn up unemployed at no fault of their own. The Veterans' Jobs Corps will provide grants to a broad network of public works organizations that sponsor and prioritize job training programs for our thousands of unemployed veterans across Upstate New York, especially in projects related to transportation, land and water infrastructure projects, public safety, and more. The Veterans' Jobs Corps would help translate impressive military skills into job opportunities for veterans, and I will fight tooth and nail to get it done."

On the call, Schumer revealed a county-by-county report of the at least 16,846 unemployed veterans in upstate New York who stand to benefit from the Veterans' Job Corps, which aims to provide opportunities for job training and employment in the public works sphere, through a range of projects that leverage skills developed in the military. Veterans have the skills, discipline and work ethic to succeed in civilian life upon returning home. However, despite this talent and set of leadership skills learned while in the military, members of the Armed Services often find it difficult to transfer these skills to good-paying professions. This can occur because veterans and their families are often uprooted and forced to move around the county, and they either do not qualify for, or are not aware of employment assistance programs. Younger veterans have been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn, with more than twenty percent of veterans ages 18 to 24 who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom unemployed after returning home.

The Veterans' Jobs Corps, proposed by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) would provide grants or contracts to the state, local governments or non-government entities that sponsor job training programs and employ veterans throughout New York. Specifically, the proposal directs the Secretaries of the Interior, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Commerce, the Attorney General, and the Army Corps of Engineers to establish a Veterans' Jobs Corps to: (1) provide training and employment to unemployed veterans not enrolled in any other federal training program, (2) assist veterans in their transition from military service to civilian life, (3) establish a Conservation Corps to carry out projects or award grants/contracts to state governments, local governments, or non-governmental entities to employ veterans, (4) work in coordination with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to award grants to hire veterans as fire fighters and law enforcement officials (5) establish a Pilot Program on providing Veterans with access at one-stop centers to an internet website to facilitate online job searches.

Schumer stated that the Veterans' Jobs Corps would act as a bridge to also help Afghanistan, Iraq and other veterans get jobs as cops, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians. Schumer highlighted that many veterans have years' worth of training and on-the-job experience in highly skilled fields like healthcare, engineering, and criminal investigation. However, because the relationship between military jobs and their equivalents in the private and public sectors is not always clear, veterans' hard-won experience may not be taken into account once vets return home. The Veterans' Jobs Corps would help skilled veterans translate their experience into civilian credentials, and would help prioritize veterans' applications for work in such highly translatable occupations as fire prevention, construction, public safety, and more. Schumer intends to push for the Veterans' Jobs Corps to be as expansive as possible and make all unemployed veterans eligible, while it would still prioritize Post-9/11 GI Bill veterans.

Under the Veterans' Jobs Corps, all participating agencies are directed to help train and educate eligible veterans for civilian professions. Agencies would need to establish a training program at suitable existing facilities through competitive grant funding. Under the legislation, the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs in coordination with respective agency heads would be responsible for development and supervision of projects, and a program administrator would be required to provide any education or training necessary to carry out assigned work projects in various fields, such as construction, maintenance, fire prevention, public safety, and an extensive list of other eligible public works projects.

Unemployment among Upstate New York's veteran population, particularly younger veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has remained stubbornly high over the last several years. The New York State Department of Labor's most recent data from 2010 found there were 16,846 unemployed veterans in Upstate New York alone. Here is a region-by-region breakdown:

· In the North Country there are 1,167 unemployed vets.

· In the Hudson Valley there are 2,936 unemployed vets.

· In Western New York there are 3,179 unemployed vets.

· In the Southern Tier there are 2,015 unemployed vets.

· In the Rochester Finger-Lakes there are 2,714 unemployed vets.

· In Central New York there are 2,233 unemployed vets.

· In the Capital Region there are 2,602 unemployed vets.

Last year, the veteran population in the United States consisted of 20.2 million men and 1.8 million women, accounting for about 9.5% of the adult population in the country. 2.2 million of those veterans served after September 11, 2001, and two thirds of that total were under 35 years old. Unemployment among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has risen to 12.1% nationally, up from 10.6% a year ago. 240,000 young veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed nationwide. An astonishing 21.9% of male veterans aged 18-24 who have served since September 11th were unemployed last year, according to data recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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