VA Program Offers Vets Between Ages 35-60 New Education Opportunities
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 2, 2012) — Unemployed veterans between 35 and 60 years old have an opportunity to begin a new career in one of more than 211 high-demand occupations by applying for enrollment in the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program launched as part of the Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.
Sponsored by the Veterans Administration and the Department of Labor Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, or VRAP, offers up to 12 months of educational assistance to veterans enrolled in a VA-approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school.
The program the vet chooses must lead to an associate’s degree, a non-college degree or certificate and train the veteran in one of the labor department’s list of high-demand occupations. Online courses may be approved for VRAP. Programs of study at vocational flight schools, correspondence courses, on-the-job training, apprenticeship and work-study are not approved.
Applicants to VRAP will have until March 31, 2014 to apply. After that date, the funding program ends. While enrolled in a full-time educational program, participants receive direct monetary assistance equal to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty program. That rate is currently capped at $1,473 per month. Vets are responsible for paying tuition, fees and books.
Eligible VRAP applicants must be unemployed at the time of application and have other than dishonorable discharges. Additionally, they cannot be enrolled in a federal or state job training program or receiving VA compensation due to being unemployable. Veterans eligible for other VA education benefit programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment are not eligible for VRAP.
For Julius Ware II, an Army veteran who served with the 82nd from 1977 to 1981, his application and acceptance into the VRAP came at a time when he’d just lost his job with the Capitol Heights, Md., public works department.
Shortly after paying a visit to the Washington, D.C., unemployment office and filing necessary paperwork to get himself back into the working world, he received a call from his veteran’s job counselor who told him about the VRAP program.
“When this VRAP program came up, she immediately called me because she thought I was well-qualified, so I was interviewed and selected to be one of the first participants,” said Ware, who while in the Army was a chemical operations specialist.
After he left the Army he used his VA educational bill to become an electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Ware also co-founded the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, a national organization that represents the interests of minority electricians.
“I think it’s a good time to be a veteran,” Ware said. “Those of us in the 35-60 age range often fall through the cracks, so I think it’s wonderful the government has come up with this program to address our needs. Oftentimes, between 35-60, if you’re out of a job, it’s a lot harder to get retraining. If the opportunity is there, you can’t afford to capitalize on it because life gets in the way, so I think this a great opportunity.”
Ware begins classes in construction management next month at Prince Georges Community College in Maryland. After he earns his associate’s degree, he wants to work with a construction company or government agency which is devoted to identifying local residents and veterans and putting them into entry-level positions in the building trades.
“Helping people get jobs is important to me, so my goal upon graduating is to be in a position where I can assist myself but also reach out and help veterans in advancing their positions,” Ware said.
While many might consider 53 on the downhill side of a working life, Ware has no intention of retiring.
“People don’t necessarily retire when they love what they do and enjoy the rigorous atmosphere of going to work, doing fulfilling things, getting gratification from a job-well-done and seeing the fruits of their labor,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll retire; I’ll just slow down.”
VA Announces Recruitment Effort to Hire Mental Health Professionals
IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developed an aggressive National Mental Health Hiring Initiative to improve recruitment and hiring, marketing, education and training programs, and retention efforts for mental health professionals.
To speed up the national hiring process, VA developed the Mental Health Hiring Initiative, a multi-faceted, sustained national marketing and outreach campaign that includes targeted recruitment of mental health providers willing to take positions throughout the country, including in rural and highly rural markets, to serve all VA medical centers and community clinics.
VA has an existing workforce of 20,590 mental health staff that includes nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. Currently, 45 mental health clinicians and support staff work supporting Veterans in our catchment area.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki noted that “as the tide of war recedes, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to anticipate the needs of returning Veterans.”
The team at Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center and its community clinics are actively treating Veterans through individualized care, readjustment counseling, and immediate crisis services. Our staff has contributed to mental health excellence by expanding services into the community; with developing Veteran and spouse support groups; and by expanding provider availability through the use of video technology.
The initiative will help VA to meet existing and future demands of mental health care services in an integrated collaborative team environment and continue to position VA as an exemplary workplace for mental health care professionals.
“Mental health services must be closely aligned with Veterans’ needs and fully integrated with health care facility operations,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel. “Improving access to mental health services will help support the current and future Veterans who depend on VA for these vital services.”
To locate the nearest VA facility or Vet Center for enrollment and to get scheduled for care, Veterans can visit VA’s website at www.va.gov. Immediate help is available at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or by calling the Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (push 1) or texting 838255.
Happening in Da U.P.? Great Lakes Radio Pix!
