Jun 6, 2011 2 min read

U.S. Rep. Mark S. Critz, D-Johnstown, recently announced that he has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to help veterans transition successfully from military service to civilian employment, particularly those who served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Too many of our troops returning home from war are finding it difficult to translate skills learned during service to potential civilian employers, making it harder for them to secure a job,” Critz said.

“That’s why it’s important to strengthen much-needed training programs, and to encourage businesses to hire service members who have developed valuable skills and professionalism while serving our nation in uniform.”

?The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 (House Resolution 2011) was introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia.

The proposed legislation is designed to:

n Streamline the federal hiring process for veterans by modifying hiring practices to encourage the hiring of separating service members and allow service members to begin the federal employment hiring process prior to their separation.

n Eliminate barriers between military and civilian credentialing by requiring the Department of Defense, the Department of Labor and the Veterans Administration to study the equivalencies, and work to eliminate barriers, between military occupational specialty related skills and civilian employment, licensure and credentialing.

n Expand the transition assistance program that will make mandatory the Transition Assistance Program and require that each service member receives an individualized assessment of jobs they may qualify for.

n Preserve and expand vocation rehabilitation to expand vocational rehabilitation and employment service, especially to severely wounded members of the armed forces.

n Provide mentorships by creating a competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations that provide mentorship and job-training programs.

that are designed to lead to job placements.