Groups disagree on how to give vets job help

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Groups disagree on how to give vets job help
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 11:49:42 EDT

Major veterans’ groups agree that the government is doing a poor job of helping separating service members find jobs. But they disagree on what to do about it.

Testifying Thursday before the House Veterans’ Affairs economic opportunity subcommittee, representatives from Vietnam Veterans of America and Paralyzed Veterans of America said the government doesn’t seem to have much to show for its efforts in recent years to improve employment assistance for veterans.

Rick Weidman, VVA’s executive director for policy and government affairs, said Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are not getting the help they need.

“What is needed today is a system that focuses on placement, real placements, not the dishonest nonsense that Labor is currently using,” Weidman said, referring to the Labor Department’s program for veterans’ employment and training. “We must move to a system that has additional monetary awards for placements and strong, measurable results for veterans, particularly disabled veterans, as opposed to just putting out the same amount of funds whether a state does a good job or a poor job.”

One idea he mentioned is one-stop employment centers established throughout the U.S. with a combination of federal, state, local and private-sector funding to help veterans find jobs.

But Richard Daley, the PVA’s associate legislative director, is no fan of one-stop employment centers and worries about paying monetary rewards for finding jobs for veterans.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_vetjobs_071026w/