Business & Tech

Operation: GoodJobs To Help Veterans Returning Into Civilian Life

Tacoma Goodwill is one of three agencies in the country selected to participate in a pilot program to empower military veterans with the tools they need to find employment, succeed in the workplace and permanently support their families.

Looks like there's some more help for local veterans.

Tacoma Goodwill is one of three Goodwill agencies in the country selected to participate in a pilot program to empower military veterans with the tools they need to find employment, succeed in the workplace and permanently support their families.

The other two Goodwill agencies are Houston and Austin, TX.

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Funded by a $1 million grant from the Walmart Foundation and administered by Goodwill Industries International, Operation: GoodJobs assists veterans with job training and placement. It also plans for each participant’s continued success by designing individualized, holistic plans that encompass the needs of their entire families, helping ensure their long-term financial stability. Funding provided to sub-grantee markets through 2013.

Tacoma Goodwill hired Mike Tassin as Veteran’s Career Navigator to head up the Operation: GoodJobs efforts here in the area. Tassin served as Sergeant in the U.S. Army for eight years with tours of Duty in Korea, Iraq and numerous state side locations.

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“I have been fortunate as a disabled veteran to experience a successful transition from military to civilian life. I am passionate to serve veterans and their families in achieving their post military goals,” says Tassin.

Tassin is like the more than 20 million men and women in the United States who are veterans. As the military works to withdraw troops from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) — two conflicts that represent the longest-running military engagements in U.S. history — the need for a continuum of coordinated, integrated services for veterans and their families is at an all-time high.

The challenging job market translates to an especially high unemployment for veterans, especially those ages 18 to 24, who face an unemployment rate of 20 percent — more than twice the national average.

“Everyone is struggling to find good jobs these days, but veterans face particular challenges. It is our duty as a nation to support them," said Terry Hayes, CEO of Tacoma Goodwill. “With Joint-Base Lewis-McChord in our back yard, we’re seeing many young men and women returning home from the battlefield and facing difficulties transitioning back into civilian life, because they need assistance with job training, skills building and support services. Goodwill believes it’s absolutely imperative that we give each of these veterans everything they need to succeed.”

Each participant in the Operation: GoodJobs program will receive a complete career assessment and an individualized development plan that will encompass a range of family needs, from basic needs like nutrition, shelter and child care, to specific job training identified in the assessment process. Veterans will be encouraged to include their spouses and other family members in the process so Goodwill can holistically support their personal and financial goals.

“As one of the nation’s largest private employers of veterans and those on active duty, we share Tacoma Goodwill’s vision of a country where every veteran has a chance to succeed economically and support his or her family,” said retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Gary Profit, senior director of military programs at Walmart. “Making that vision a reality starts today through Operation: GoodJobs. These young men and women stood up for us, and now it’s our turn to stand up for them.”

Report compiled by information from Goodwill Tacoma


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