WILMINGTON, Del. — U.S. Senator Chris Coons hosted a roundtable discussion with some of Delaware’s leading voices on jobs for veterans this afternoon in New Castle to generate new ideas for confronting the staggering 21.1 percent unemployment rate amongst post-9/11 veterans.

“For months I’ve been meeting with military leaders, veterans who are looking for work, business leaders, and government officials, and the message I’m hearing from everyone is the same — we need to do more to boost hiring rates of those who’ve served,” Senator Coons said. “To help returning veterans get into the workforce we need to do two things simultaneously.  First, we need to get our economy moving again in order to create jobs, and second, we need to help businesses recognize the value in the leadership and technical skills our veterans gained from their service.”

Monday’s roundtable included 19 participants from around the state, from the military, public, private, medical, and academic sectors. Senator Coons led a 90-minute-long discussion on the unique challenges veterans face after returning home and on opportunities to help ease their transition to the workforce.

“There are things we can do in Washington to make it easier for veterans to get jobs when they’re ready to re-enter the civilian workforce,” Senator Coons said. “Maybe it’s through the VA or maybe it’s through the Pentagon. Maybe it’s through programs like ESGR and Hardhats to Helmets. Or maybe it’s directly with employers, like Summit Aviation or JPMorgan Chase or Dupont. There has got to be more we can do.”

In May, Senator Coons introduced the Hire America’s Heroes Act to try to tackle some of the major issues facing America’s veterans as they re-enter the civilian workforce. The bill would:

  • Extend part of the Wounded Warrior Act for job training for severely injured or ill members of Armed Services until 2014
  • Allow the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to begin on-the-job training payments for employers earlier
  • Provide solutions for veterans with service-connected disabilities who have exhausted state or federal unemployment benefits
  • Make it mandatory for the Dept. of Defense to provide the Transition Assistance Program to all eligible personnel
  • Provide for follow-up contact after job training programs to gauge effectiveness for the program and assist veterans
  • Establish $4.5 million in grants for a collaborative veterans training mentoring and placement program with non-profit organizations
  • Put in place several programs to help establish for employers, the government, and veterans equivalencies in skills and credentials developed in the Armed Forces with the civilian public and private sector
  • Make it easier for the federal government to hire veterans after an honorable discharge

Monday’s roundtable was the first of three Senator Coons will host this month to engage Delawareans in a candid conversation about strategies for helping businesses create much-needed jobs. Next month, Senator Tom Carper and Representative John Carney will join Senator Coons in organizing a third job fair for Delawareans. That job fair will be on September 26th in Georgetown.

Participants in Monday’s roundtable included:

  • Jeffrey Ansley, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Jeffery Brown, Human Resources, Tidewater Utilities
  • Laura Coseglia, Director of the 512th Reserve, Airman and Family Readiness Center, Dover Air Force Base
  • Patricia R. Edwards, Community Readiness Consultant at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Dover Air Force Base
  • Robert Fitzpatrick, Summit Aviation
  • Shannon Freeze-Flory, Global Manager, Talent Acquisition Center of Expertise, DuPont
  • Antonio “Tony” Davila, Director, Delaware Veterans Commission
  • Harry Gravell, President, Delaware Building Trades Council, Helmets to Hardhats
  • Wendelin Henry, Coordinator for Veterans Affairs, Delaware State University
  • Tim Keefe, Military and Veterans Affairs Communications, JPMorgan Chase
  • Christine F. Kubik, Executive Director, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Delaware
  • Sheila Mittucci, Human Resources, Saint Francis Hospital
  • James M. Provo, Veterans Representative, Business Development Specialist, and Public Information Officer, Small Business Administration
  • David B. Rich, State Director for VETS, United States Department of Labor
  • Victor Santos, Government Affairs Liaison, Delaware State University
  • Wesley Schroeder, Director of USG-DOD Programs, Summit Aviation
  • Edward Scully, Vice President, Summit Aviation
  • Jim Tribbitt, Division of Employment and Training, Delaware Department of Labor
  • Sarmite Tyus, OEF/OIF/OND Program Manager, Wilmington VA Medical Center
  • Daniel Young, Founder, Delaware Military Community Partners
  • James S. Webb, Military Affairs Coordinator, Wilmington University

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