July 16, 2012
Alexandria, Va. (June 19, 2012)
— In partnership with the Veterans Innovation Center, Wiregrass Technical
College, community leaders in Valdosta, Ga., the regional Military
Officers Association of America (MOAA) Chapter and other veteran organizations, applications are being
solicited from recently discharged veterans who have an interest in pursuing a
career in the construction trades. The six month program will launch a
demonstration model in Valdosta in mid-October 2012 with 50 Veterans and up to
125 family members.
The program is accepting applicants
now and veterans interested in learning entry level construction trades in a
structured and mutually supportive environment may visit the www.Valdosta4Vets.org website for more information and an
application. Each Veteran’s
qualifications and interests will be assessed by means of written input and a phone
interview.
Those selected will be assigned to the
community to complete necessary testing, GI Bill qualifications and relocation
activities. Those not selected will be
transferred to the Gold Card Program run by the Department of Labor for
personal guidance on employment.
This test model is
referred to as the Valdosta Construction Program (VCP), and is designed to
accelerate the transition from military service to a viable long-term civilian
career path and will focus on four key elements of military to civilian
transition support:
- Employment (in the construction trades and leading to high
expectation of career placement following program completion);
- Education (construction trade professional certification and
holistic life skills training)
- Culture shift (reintegration, mentoring, behavior health and
strengthening families); and
- Engagement (community support, housing, spouse employment and
child care, on an as needed basis).
“The VCP is designed to address the employment
challenges of recent veterans returning home following military service and to
also assist with the challenges of re-integrating with families and communities,”
Bob Verhey, Executive Director of the Veterans Innovation Center said. “Our goal is
to help recently discharged veterans become as good a civilian as they were a
warrior.”
Selected veterans will attend Wiregrass Technical College to receive necessary technical
skills to succeed professionally and necessary holistic skills to navigate the
civilian culture.
The
Valdosta community intends to provide the veteran and families mentoring and
reinforcement support in the areas of family-friendly living quarters, spousal
employment, veteran part-time employment, public school education, child care,
entertainment, extra-curricular activities,
community engagement and more. Local
community support is a key feature of the VCP program.
Post
9/11 GI Bill funding will be arranged and available to cover 100% of expenses
for tuition, books and housing.
“Our objective is to test
the validity of the process and make adjustments in preparation for the
roll-out of similar programs in a variety of professional fields across the
United States.” Verhey continued.