Matches Skill Sets To Opportunities
State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo announced that legislation which he sponsors to help job-seeking veterans and potential employers to better communicate about job skills earned in the military was recently approved by both the State Senate and Assembly.
“Often, veterans who are looking for jobs, as well as the employers interviewing them, aren’t sure how to translate military titles and skills into civilian workforce terms,” said Addabbo, who serves as the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs.
“This difficulty in understanding how certain types of military experience can carry over to the civilian labor force sometimes means that former servicemen and servicewomen lose out on good jobs and employers miss out on great veteran employees,” he added. “That’s a shame for all involved and I am gratified that all of my colleagues in the State Senate and State Assembly, on both sides of the aisle, have joined me in moving this legislation forward.”
Addabbo’s legislation (S.4402), which will now go to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his review and final action, would require the State Division of Veteran’s Affairs to provide an Internet connection on its Web site that is capable of translating military job titles and skills into civilian terms. The senator noted that this tool would be helpful to veterans and employers alike and could aid veterans in identifying open positions that are appropriate to their skills and experience.
“Unemployment among our re- turning servicemen and servicewomen is a big problem and a very serious concern on so many levels,” said Addabbo. “In many cases, the positions may be there for these veterans, but neither the job-seekers nor the job-providers can figure out how to translate the details of military resumes into successful job offers.”
Addabbo pointed out that a 2007 study by Military.com, a website that seeks to address the needs and concerns of veterans and active duty military personnel, found that 61 percent of employers surveyed felt that they did not have a complete understanding of the qualifications offered by former servicemen. A similar percentage of employers suggested that veterans need additional assistance in making a transition into the civilian job market.
The same study found that 81 percent of the returning veterans did not feel prepared to enter the job market, with 76 percent saying that they felt an inability to effectively translate their military skills to civilian terms.
“By having the State Division of Veterans Affairs provide easily accessible information to help breach this gap in understanding, we may be able to help more veterans find good jobs and help more employers find good workers,” said Addabbo. “I hope that the governor will soon sign this important piece of legislation into law.”
Veterans who would like to get an idea of how this job translation tool could work may wish to visit Military.com and look into the Web site’s “Veteran Jobs” section. This part of the site offers not only militaryfriendly job listings, but a link to a “Military Skills Translator” tool similar to that proposed in Addabbo’s legislation.
The link to this job search tool can be found at www.military.com/veteran jobs/skills-translator.
