Jobs hard to find for Iraq vets

Jobs hard to find for Iraq vets
by Ron Martz

Atlanta, GEORGIA–Army Spc. Sameer Bartlett of College Park knew there would not be much demand in the job market for an artillery ammunition team chief.

So he switched his specialty to human resources before he came home from a year in Iraq.

But since his release from four years of active duty on May 28, Bartlett, 23, has found that even with a new job skill, life after Army can be frustrating for younger veterans. In fact, young veterans suffer nearly double the unemployment of nonveterans their age.

“I’ve been flooding the market with applications and résumés, but every job I go for, they want someone with a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree or more experience than I have,” Bartlett said Tuesday…

He was among nearly 1,000 job-seeking veterans who attended a career fair at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, where 33 businesses trolled for potential employees.

The event was the third in a series of job fairs being held around the country by RecruitMilitary, a private recruiting company run by veterans and the President’s National Hire Veterans Committee, an arm of the U.S. Labor Department.

The push to hire veterans, especially those recently back from Iraq or Afghanistan, comes at a time when younger vets are finding the job market tough to crack.

A survey by the Labor Department showed this month that veterans between 20 and 24 have a 15.6 percent unemployment rate, compared to 8.7 percent for nonveterans the same age.

“Younger veterans do have a problem. It’s a national issue,” said Michael Thurmond, commissioner of the Georgia Labor Department.

Thurmond said he did not have specific figures for Georgia on unemployed veterans in that age group. But, he said, veterans are generally on unemployment benefits at least two months longer than nonveterans, 19.4 weeks, compared to 11.3.

Bill Offutt, executive director of the President’s National Hire Veterans Committee, said more than 220,000 service members leave the military each year. And despite efforts to ease the transition to civilian life through various programs, Offutt said at least one-third do not take advantage of them.

“We want them to know their service to the country was respected and now we want to reward them,” said Offutt, a Vietnam veteran.

The Georgia Labor Department set up transition centers at Fort Stewart to assist soldiers with the 48th Brigade Combat Team when it returned from Iraq in April and May and later held regional job fairs.

Also, Operation Welcome Home was started to help returning Georgia veterans with the transition to civilian life.

Larry Slagel, a former Marine officer and senior vice president of RecruitMilitary, said that in addition to job fairs, his organization allows veterans to post résumés online and recruiters to post jobs.

To date, Slagel said, 115,000 veterans and 3,800 businesses are in RecruitMilitary’s database.

Companies prefer veterans because they are disciplined and have specific skills, he said.

“Veterans, especially those who served in the war zone, don’t get stressed as easily,” Slagel added.

Recruiters say their companies are eager to hire veterans.

Ernie Labadie, director of human resources for Paver Systems of Florida, which manufactures paving stones, said the company seeks vets because they bring leadership skills.

“There is a high demand for veterans in the manufacturing arena. They are great people. They make great hires,” said Labadie.

Among other businesses at the job fair were Publix, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, Caterpillar, Waffle House and Stock Building Supply.

Perhaps the most unusual recruiter, and one drawing a lot of interest, was the Kwajalein Police Department.

The Kwajalein atoll, part of the Marshall Islands, is about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It is home to a ballistic missile defense test site and recruiters were looking for anyone with civilian or military law enforcement experience. And those willing to spend a year on a South Sea island.

“This is a phenomenal turnout for this job fair. I’ve had at least 10 qualified or interested candidates,” said Travis Coldwell of the Huntsville, Ala., recruiting firm Alutiiq.

Slagel said companies usually feel it was worth the effort to come to a job fair if they are able to hire one or two veterans.

As for the veterans, he said, “The No. 1 thing they want to do is reassimilate with their families and decompress. And then they want a job with some stability.”

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