More than a quarter of all United States military veterans aged 20 to 24 are unemployed, and lawmakers hope to change that statistic with a new bill working its way through Congress. The Washington Post has a story today on the measure by Senator Patty Murray of Washington. Her bill would require troops leaving the military to take training courses in resume writing, interviewing for jobs, and job hunting.
Paul Rieckhoff heads up the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and supports the bill:
The job training program, known as the Transition Assistance Program, is voluntary right now for departing service members - but as many as a third don't participate, according to the Post. Under the proposed legislation, the training would be mandatory. The government would also keep tabs on veterans after they complete the training to check on their job hunting progress.
