NBC12 VIEWPOINT: Easing the Path to Employment for Veterans

This week, Senator Tim Kaine unveiled his first Senate bill, a bill designed to help veterans get the credentials to use their military expertise and skills in the civilian workforce.

The Troop Talent Act of 2013, which Kaine plans to introduce next week, will hopefully ease the transition from military life to a meaningful job in Virginia.

These are the goals of the bill:

•  Improve translation of military skills to civilian credentials or licenses by providing more information to service members throughout their military careers.

•  Prevent credential fraud by establishing strict standards for courses or programs that guarantee a credential after successful completion.

•  Increase access to high-demand career fields for service members by expanding the current Department of Defense pilot program on credentialing to include the field of information technology.

Service members spend years learning and developing specific skills in the military only to discover that there are many roadblocks in front of them when it comes time for employment.

After serving for your country the best way that we can say thank you to a veteran is to say: "You're hired."

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