Senator Coons hosts roundtable on jobs for veterans

NEW CASTLE — Senator Coons hosted a roundtable discussion on jobs for veterans at the Delaware National Guard headquarters on Monday, with participants from the military, public, private, medical, and academic sectors.  They joined Chris to talk about the high unemployment rates for veterans nationally and what steps can be taken here in Delaware to provide resources to returning service members and help them find jobs. 

The first of three roundtables Chris is hosting on job creation, Monday’s meeting included 19 participants and focused on the unique challenges facing veterans as they return home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The discussion, which lasted for an hour and a half, drew on the participants’ work and areas of expertise in creating opportunities to help ease veterans’ transition back to the civilian workforce. 

“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,” Chris 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.”

With the national unemployment rate for veterans under the age of 24 at 21.1%, Chris introduced the Hire America’s Heroes Act in May.  The bill would provide additional assistance to service members transitioning into the civilian workforce, but Chris believes this legislation must only be a first step.  Monday’s roundtable discussion convened stakeholders in an effort to produce new ideas for Chris to bring to Washington when the Senate returns for its September session. 

Chris will host another roundtable on August 25, focusing on Delaware’s high-tech and R&D sector, and he will host a third one on August 31 to discuss community-based small businesses.   

To learn more about what Chris is doing to help Delaware’s veterans, click here.