Internships and mentors needed

By Rick Rogers
DefenseTracker.com

David Dickey knows life after the military can be hard, even for an infantry officer with a college education and strong credentials.

The former major remembers leaving the Marine Corps in 2007 and wondering what to do next and how to do it. Now times that by 30,000, the number of veterans returning to California each year, and you get an idea of the job creation needed to give these men and women a fighting chance to succeed in the civilian world.

Ruben Garcia, left, Small Business Association district director of San Diego, and David Dickey, president, San Diego County Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises Alliance and president of Alpha Ten Technologies, Inc.

While the services do an outstanding job of teaching military jobs skills, Dickey said, there's a drop off when it comes to teaching men and women the life skills they'll need out of uniform.

That's why Dickey and the San Diego Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association started the Veterans Retraining Initiative and why he wants others to lend a hand in helping veterans secure the skills and support they need for success.

Begun about a year go, the Veterans Retraining Initiative program offers assistance to any Veteran in transition. Recently about 240 veterans attended a VRI event and others are planned, but more needs to be done and Dickey is calling on San Diego County to do its part.

Dickey also helps California disabled veterans start small business and is president of the San Diego Chapter of the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Alliance and assists that organization with training and networking. (www.cadvbe.org)

"From military installations to the VA to non-profits, the community as a whole has to do a better job to promote veteran employment," Dickey said. "There is no one coordinating that and the result is that veterans are going unemployed or under-employed. There are a lot of different organizations and they all act independently."

The unemployment news for veterans is a mixed bag. As a whole they have a slightly lower unemployment rate than those who never served in the military, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But other statistics suggest that veterans are unemployed at twice the rate of their civilian peers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veteran unemployment has more than doubled in the past two years, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are having a difficult time finding work after their military careers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January 2010 unemployment statistics earlier this month. Among the findings:

· Veterans posted a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, up nearly 1.5 percent from the average monthly unemployment in 2009, but still below the overall non-veteran unemployment rate of 10.4 percent.
· Among veterans who have served since 2001 and left the military, the unemployment rate is 12.6 percent, well above the 10.2 percent average for 2009. (That 12.6 percent figure translates into 213,000 jobless veterans, more than are currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
· A 2007 study by done for the VA by Abt Associates found the 18 percent of the veterans who sought jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year

Veterans groups worry that younger vets aren't getting the job training or job opportunities needed to succeed in civilian life.

Dickey said Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among veterans complicates the job search and retention, but it's a lack of information is hampering them even more.

"They need to know what to expect when they get out. A lot of things are taken care of when they are in the military," he said. "Once they transition (out of the service), they have to set out on their own with little training or help. The Defense Department spends virtually nothing on this."

Dickey said jobs are a priority, but there are other ways to help.

· Businesses can offer internships to show veterans -- or those soon leaving the military -- what it takes to be successful in civilian jobs
· Mentors are always needed. A big hurdle when leaving the military is the mental transition. Vets can use coaching on stuff ranging from how to dress to learning the proper way to talk to people in a non-military work setting

"What I would like to do is to have a lot more interaction between the bases and the communities," Dickey said. "Where can we get some internships, training or re-training?"

"Mentoring is a huge thing. People need to find a mentor for different areas of their life. There is not a robust employment transition program in the military."

Another upcoming job fair for veterans will be hosted by the National Defense Industry Association and the San Diego United Veteran Council June 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Balboa Park. A contact for that is Laura Barish at (858) 775-3611.

Dickey is looking for organizations to expand the connections veterans can make. He can be contacted at veterans@afcea-sd.org.