CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the expansion of a program aimed at increasing education and employment opportunities to America’s Veterans to an additional to 25 new communities.
The Veterans Economic Communities Initiative (VECI) brings together local and national partners to coordinate services for Veterans, Service members and military families.
Announcement of the expanded communities was made in Costa Mesa by senior VA officials to more than 500 leaders from the business, nonprofit, philanthropic and local government communities who are attending VA’s two-day inaugural VECI Policy Academy, which began September 29. The Policy Academy serves as a forum for local, regional and national partner organizations to engage in honest dialog about Veteran economic issues; receive interactive training on national philanthropic and community-based best practices; and hear from leaders in the field about emerging data, trends and opportunities.
Secretary McDonald launched the VECI campaign in May 2015 to promote local collaboration, dialog and partnership among organizations that serve transitioning Service members, Veterans and their families. VECI is part of Secretary McDonald’s department-wide transformation called MyVA, which is dedicated to putting Veterans at the center of everything VA does and enhancing strategic partnerships to extend VA’s reach of services.
Campaign partners include the Departments of Defense and Labor, the Small Business Administration, and regional and national nonprofits, businesses and educators. All VECI communities were selected based on the size of transitioning Service member and Post-9/11 Veteran populations; unemployment, employment opportunity and job growth; and education spending.
Under the Veterans Economic Communities Initiative, communities will develop stable, sustainable models in the next two years that will include:
• Developing ongoing public-private partnerships focused on employment and economic opportunities;
• Fostering employer networking and encouraging hiring commitments on the Veterans Employment Center™ (www.ebenefits.va.gov/jobs);
• Supporting events such as career fairs, job and employment summits, and roundtables to boost economic competitiveness for Veterans;
• Sharing best practices and training and supporting employers who are considering hiring Veterans; and
• Facilitating the development of learning or resource hubs to help connect Veterans to economic opportunities including entrepreneurship, credentialing and skills building.