Addabbo Bill That Helps Veterans and Potential Employers Better Communicate About Job Skills Gets Approved by Veterans Committee

Queens, NY, April 23, 2013 --  State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens) announced that legislation he sponsors (S.4402) to help employment-seeking veterans and potential employers to better communicate about job skills earned in the military, was recently approved by the NYS Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs. 

“Often, veterans who are looking for jobs, as well as the employers interviewing them, are not sure how to translate military titles and skills into civilian workforce terms,” said Addabbo. “This difficulty in understanding how certain types of military experience can carry over to the civilian labor force sometimes means that former servicemen and servicewomen lose out on good jobs and employers miss out on great veteran employees. That’s a shame for all involved.”

Addabbo’s legislation would require the State Division of Veterans’ Affairs to provide an Internet connection on its Web site that is capable of translating military job titles and skills into civilian terms. The senator, who is the ranking Democratic member of the Veterans Committee, noted that this tool would be helpful to veterans and employers alike and could aid veterans in identifying open positions that are appropriate to their skills and experience.

“Unemployment among our returning servicemen and servicewomen is a big problem and a very serious concern on so many levels,” said Addabbo. “In many cases, the positions may be there for these veterans, but neither the job-seekers nor the job-providers can figure out how to translate the details of military resumes into successful job offers.”  

Addabbo pointed out that a 2007 study by Military.com, a Web site that seeks to address the needs and concerns of veterans and active duty military personnel, found that 61 percent of employers surveyed felt that they did not have a complete understanding of the qualifications offered by former servicemen. A similar percentage of employers suggested that veterans need additional assistance in making a transition into the civilian job market. 

The same study found that 81 percent of the returning veterans did not feel prepared to enter the job market, with 76 percent saying that they felt an inability to effectively translate their military skills to civilian terms.

“By having the State Division of Veterans Affairs provide easily accessible information to help breach this gap in understanding, we may be able to help more veterans find good jobs and help more employers find good workers,” said Addabbo. The legislation he is sponsoring is now under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee, and its State Assembly counterpart (A.4168) has been approved by the Veterans Committee and is being reviewed by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. 

Veterans who would like to get an idea of how this job translation tool could work may wish to visit Military.com and look into the Web site’s “Veteran Jobs” section. This part of the site offers not only military-friendly job listings, but a link to a “Military Skills Translator” tool similar to that proposed in Addabbo’s legislation. The link to this innovative job search tool can be found at:   http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/skills-translator/

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Judy Close, Press Secretary
NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.
15th Senate District - Satellite Office
66-85  73rd Place
Middle Village, NY   11379
Ph:  718-497-1630