New study identifies which veterans are using programs to gain employment

New study identifies which veterans are using programs to gain employment
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Compared to veterans of other wars, those who have served since 9/11 have the highest unemployment rate, particularly among young male veterans. Within the first three months of disconnecting from active duty service, more than half of post-9/11 veterans reported using at least one program designed to enhance their job prospects, according to researchers at Penn State.

"There are many employment programs available to veterans," said Keith Aronson, associate director of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State. "These programs include online job boards, career fairs and job networking events, resume writing resources, career counseling, certification programs, among many others."

Data collected in The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI) is shedding a light on both the programs that veterans use as they transition to civilian life, as well as which veterans choose to use or not use them.

Aronson and his colleagues recently published the study in the Journal of Veterans Studies examining employment use. Their findings include that male veterans were less likely than their female counterparts to use employment programs; veterans from more senior enlisted and officer ranks were more likely to use programs compared to those from the most junior enlisted ranks; and white, non-Hispanic veterans were consistently less likely to use employment programs than their non-white or Hispanic peers.

The researchers said the last finding likely reflects the lower unemployment rate among white veterans.

"Veterans from underrepresented minority groups have lower incomes and higher unemployment and are more likely to live in poverty," Daniel Perkins, professor and principal scientist at the Clearinghouse as well as principal investigator of TVMI, noted. "Thus, non-white veterans may have more impetus to engage with employment programs as a strategy to improve their socioeconomic well-being."

Veterans with were substantially more likely to use employment programs than those without these challenges, according to the researchers. Veterans with are more likely to be unemployed and are also more likely to experience a broad array of military-to-civilian transitions.

"It is encouraging that veterans with are using programs to enhance their job getting ability given their higher risk of being unemployed," Aronson said.

On the other hand, veterans with did not differ in their use of employment programs from veterans without these problems.

"It may be that veterans with mental health problems face barriers to program use, such as low levels of motivation, poor concentration, and difficulty functioning at a high level," said Aronson.

More information: Keith R. Aronson et al. Post-9/11 Veteran Transitions to Civilian Life: Predictors of the Use of Employment Programs, Journal of Veterans Studies (2019). DOI: 10.21061/jvs.v5i1.127

Citation: New study identifies which veterans are using programs to gain employment (2020, March 24) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2020-03-veterans-gain-employment.html
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