http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/vets-coming-home-s5.jpgDepartment of Workforce Development works hard to help veterans find employment.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, last week, during his 2024 State of the State address, announced Wisconsin’s workforce development services now rank 4th in the country for successfully helping veterans find employment. The new ranking underscores Wisconsin’s deep commitment to connecting veterans to jobs employers are seeking to fill.

“Our nation’s heroes have made selfless sacrifices to protect the safety and well-being of Wisconsinites and folks across our country, and I’m proud of our administration’s work to help ensure they have the support and resources to secure employment when they return to civilian life,” said Gov. Evers. “I’m incredibly grateful to our partners at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development for their hard work and dedication that helped us reach this milestone, and my administration remains committed to continuing to invest in our veterans in honor of their service and sacrifice.”

“Our veterans bring valuable assets to the workforce and deserve meaningful employment opportunities as civilians,” said Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Amy Pechacek. “We proudly serve these heroes who sacrificed for our country, and we encourage all veterans facing employment barriers to contact our Office of Veteran Employment Services for assistance.”

The Uniform National Threshold Entered Employment Rate (UNTEER) for veterans and eligible persons is a standard put forth by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to measure states’ efficacy in providing employment services to veterans. The standard covers state service delivery systems, including programs administered by DWD’s Office of Veteran Employment Services (OVES). Wisconsin’s UNTEER ranked sixth in the nation last year.

OVES assists veterans through the entire employment process, from developing a resume to translating military experience to civilian job opportunities. Employers can also work with OVES to access funding for on-the-job training, offer subsidized transitional employment, and build a diverse workforce from a broad pool of skilled candidates.

In the program year that ended June 2023, the USDOL standard showed that 67.9 percent of the state’s veteran program participants who were unemployed became employed with help from OVES. Last year, 58.7 percent of participants received the help they needed to gain employment.

Visit DWD’s Veteran Employment Services website to learn more about the Vets Ready Employer Initiative, the Hire Heroes program, and other services available to veterans and veteran employers.