WASHINGTON—When veterans apply for jobs outside the military, they can often find the process inefficient and cumbersome because of licensing and certification regulations. The ultimate authority for regulating entry into most professions lies with states, which means governors have the power to make it easier for those veterans to find good jobs.
In Accelerating Opportunity for Veterans: A Governor’s Blueprint for Pathways to Veterans’ Civilian Licensing and Certification, a paper released today by the National Governors Association (NGA), strategies for achieving greater economic opportunity for veterans are outlined. For example, the paper outlines how states can select occupations by matching preselected military occupational specialties to the civilian workforce. It stems from a joint project with the U.S. Department of Labor, through which six states— Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin—identified the most efficient processes for accelerating veterans’ employment opportunities. In Illinois, three high-growth, high-demand occupations were chosen to focus on: police patrol officers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics and licensed practical nurses. To learn more about the NGA Center for Best Practices Economic Opportunity Division, click here.
