With more than 480,000 employees in its ranks, the federal government is a leader in employing veterans not only throughout Washington, DC, but also in states across the nation. The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reports that veterans constitute more than 25 percent of employees in the federal workforce. Disabled veterans constitute 6 percent of that total. If you are considering going back to work, a public sector job might be right for you thanks to a new Executive Order.
The White House is committed to creating new public sector opportunities for veterans who wish to return to the workforce. President Obama recently signed an Executive Order creating more employment opportunities in the federal government.
The Executive Order on the Employment of Veterans in the federal government, which establishes the Veterans Employment Initiative for the Executive Branch, underscores to federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training veterans, aims to increase the employment of veterans within the Executive Branch and helps recently hired veterans adjust to service in a civilian capacity.
The Order also establishes a Veterans Employment Program office within most federal agencies. These offices will be responsible for helping veterans identify employment opportunities within those federal agencies, providing feedback to veterans about their employment application status and helping veterans recently employed by these agencies adjust to civilian life and a workplace culture different than military service.
The Executive Order creates an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that will advise the President and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management on the veterans’ employment initiative.
OPM Director, John Berry, who will serve as the Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer of the Council, says the Veterans Employment Initiative will help federal agencies identify qualified veterans, clarify the hiring process for veterans seeking employment with the federal government, and help veterans adjust to civilian life once they are hired.
Top federal agencies that employ veterans, such as Department of Defense (DOD), Labor (DOL), Veterans Affairs (VA) and Homeland Security (DHS), are launching a major government-wide veterans hiring initiative. Other agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Labor (DOL), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Social Security Administration (SSA) are also increasing efforts.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano believes veterans play a vital role in her department’s mission to protect the nation and has pledged to grow her veteran workforce to more than 50,000 Department-wide by 2012.
For Fiscal Year 2008, nearly 35 percent of all federal new hires were veterans and 23 percent were disabled.
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