House Passes Legislation That Will Help Our Veterans Find Jobs Faster
By Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon)
Veterans deserve a smooth transition to the civilian workforce after their military service ends. However, many veterans have a hard time finding jobs upon returning to civilian life due to onerous and redundant certification and licensure requirements. To address this, I reintroduced a bill that would streamline certification and licensing processes for veterans and help match them with good-paying jobs faster. That bill passed the House unanimously today.
Forcing veterans to undergo training for skills they already possess simply does not make sense. It hurts veterans and their families, who, at the very least, are entitled to the opportunity to earn a living given their sacrifices and service to our country. But it also hurts the employers who would benefit from hiring them and our economy as a whole.
In a 2012 study on veterans’ employment challenges conducted by Prudential and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 69 percent of surveyed veterans cited finding a job as their greatest challenge, and 60 percent reported explaining how their military experience translates to skills of interest to a civilian employer as a roadblock to finding a job.
The reality is that much of the training that veterans received during their military service overlaps with the training required for a civilian career. Our military provides its members with world-class training. Military members are taught to work in stressful, fast-paced and dynamic environments. As a result, they are dedicated and loyal. And many leave their military careers as experts in their respective fields.
Veterans served our country as team leaders, engineers, mechanics, paramedics, machine operators, welders and pilots. Why should they not be able to perform those same duties as civilians?
As a Commonwealth, we should recognize veterans’ military training and encourage its application to the civilian workforce.
That is why I reintroduced legislation that would ensure that service members’ military education and training are taken into consideration for the purpose of fulfilling requirements for professional credentials.
Under
House Bill 157, an issuing state agency would be required to consider whether a veteran’s military service, education, training and service experience satisfies certain or all licensing or certification requirements. This would prevent veterans from having to duplicate training and education, and ultimately allow veterans to transition to a civilian career faster and with greater ease.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where I hope it will receive swift consideration.
We owe our veterans our support as they begin their transition into civilian life. I believe that this legislation would help make that transition just a little bit easier.
Representative Doyle Heffley
122nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jonathan Anzur
717.260-6610
janzur@pahousegop.com
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