The White House Business Council's Guide to Hiring Veterans

The number of veterans transitioning from active duty service to civilian life will increase over the coming years, and the Obama Administration is committed to doing everything in its power to assist them in re-entering civilian life and finding employment. As part of this effort, the administration is collaborating with small businesses and organizations throughout the country to make sure they have the resources they need to support and hire our veterans.

Across the nation, many entities (non-profits, for-profits, civic organizations, institutions of higher learning, community-based efforts, etc.) are committed to assisting Veterans as they transition out of the services and pursue civilian careers, higher education, institutional positions, or start their own businesses. To bring all of these entities together in a collaborative atmosphere, the Administration has developed the White House Business Council. The White House Business Council holds a series of multi-city forums throughout the year with over 500 cities to create a discussion focused on improving economic conditions and job creation. The forums feature high level discussions between senior White House and Administration officials and successful local area businesses and organizations. Small business owners are an important engine of economic growth, and these forums help focus the tools and resources they need in order to start, grow, and create jobs.

To complement these forums, the White House Business Council has prepared A Guide to Hiring Veterans; a manual outlining guidelines for receiving tax credits, accessing recruitment resources and seeking other information on hiring, training, retaining and supporting veterans in the workforce. This guide is intended to provide an organization the information needed to recruit, retain, support, and educate veterans in both in their local area and across the nation. The guide answers common questions such as how to locate and hire veterans, how to accommodate employees with disabilities and how to address veterans’ psychological and mental health concerns.

Veterans have served and sacrificed in defense of our Nation. These efforts will help ensure that local businesses have the resources they need to help provide our veterans and military families a fair shot at a bright future after their service to our country.

To download the full version of The Guide to Hiring Veterans, please follow this link.

Rosye Cloud is Executive Director of the Performance Improvement Council and Member of the White House Task Force on Veterans and Military Families