This Sunday, November 11, is the day Americans have set aside to honor our Veterans, the heroes whose sacrifices have kept this nation safe and preserved the liberty we hold so dear.
At DOT, we know that we cannot thank our servicemen and women and their families enough for their tireless work on our country's behalf. But we can show our gratitude by making the transition to civilian careers in transportation easier.
Our veterans have the skills and experience to help rebuild America, so we want to put them to work in the skies, on the roads, and throughout our transit and rail systems.
That's why in June we teamed up with the Department of Veterans Affairs to launch the Veterans Transportation Career Center, an online portal to help military personnel and veterans apply the training and job specialty skills acquired in the service to exciting careers in the transportation industry. This site helps those with military experience map how that experience translates into jobs like air traffic controller, rail mechanic, or pilot.
This portal supplements DOT's Careers in Motion: Veteran Opportunities site, which features useful resources like a link to Veteran-oriented career fairs--this month alone there are events in Dallas and Charlotte on the 15th, and in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Oakland on the 29th.
In addition to online resources, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is also adopting rules that help veterans connect with good, stable jobs in the truck and bus industry.
FMCSA has adopted a rule that allows states to waive the skills test required for a Commercial Driver’s License for those with 2 years of safe military driving experience. They are also now implementing a new law enabling military members stationed outside of their home state to obtain a commercial driver’s license. And, they are making funds available for better job training and job placement through Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Training grants.
The steps we've taken at DOT serve not only our veterans and employers, but all Americans--every one of us who uses our nation's transportation system. More than half of U.S. transportation workers are eligible to retire in the next year alone. We need thousands of skilled workers, and veterans offer the right mix of preparation and leadership to step into those jobs.
We think that removing barriers that stand in the way of our veterans’ success and connecting them with the job opportunities that they deserve is the least we can do to honor their service. I hope you'll agree and join us in thanking America's veterans, on November 11 and every day.
Nice honors America's heroes
Posted by: Beats by Dre | November 23, 2012 at 07:27 PM
It is great to see so many resources created for veterans that are transitioning back to civilian life.
I am always interested to see the numbers of how many veterans take advantage of these services.
Posted by: Liberty University Online Education | December 04, 2012 at 11:44 AM