Economic Competitiveness

Veterans Employment Center

To easily match transitioning service members, veterans and their families to meaningful career opportunities, the First Lady and Dr. Biden launched the Veterans Employment Center (VEC). VEC offers a single, authoritative, online government source for employers who are seeking to leverage the skills and talents of veterans, service members, and their spouses.

President Barack Obama greets members of the audience following his remarks on the Veterans Job Corps at Fire Station #5 in Arlington, Va., Feb. 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The VEC is the first government-wide product that brings together a reputable cadre of public and private employers with real job opportunities, and provides our military community with the tools to translate their military skills into plain language and build a profile that can be shared – in real time – with employers who have made a public commitment to hire veterans.

The VEC currently lists over 1.5 million private and public sector jobs and employers have made commitments to hire over 150,000 individuals from the military community.

Visit the Veterans Employment Center

The New Transition Assistance Program (TAP)

To help our service members transition back to civilian life, the Obama Administration brought together a diverse group of government partners to ensure separating service members are prepared for educational advancement and career opportunities throughout their lives.

Under the new program—Transition GPS (Goals, Plans, Success)—the Department of Defense, has teamed up with the Small Business Administration, Office of Personnel Management, and Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA), Labor, and Education, to provide an extended 5-7 day transition program that will strengthen, standardize, and expand counseling and guidance for service members leaving the military.

Transition GPS is transforming the military's approach to education, training, and credentialing for service members. Under the new program, career readiness and transition preparation will be incorporated into the entire span of a service member’s career.

Furthermore, as part of the TAP workshops, the online curriculum will be available to the families of service members through the VA’s eBenefits portal. Family members will be able to access the following tailored tracks:

• An education track, for those pursing college education
• A technical training track, for those seeking job-ready skills and industry-recognized credentials in shorter-term training programs
• An entrepreneurship track, for those wanting to start a business

Visit the DoD’s Transition Assistance Program Website