Last week I had the pleasure to join our partner, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), and be a part of the 44th Veterans Training Conference for the North Carolina State Workforce team. The event was put on by the Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions and spearheaded by Archie Barrow, the Director of Veterans Employment Services for North Carolina.
Jen Polcer and Lori Adams from NASWA presenting at the 44th Veterans Training Conference for the North Carolina State Workforce team.
The event was held at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in Wilmington, North Carolina – a fitting location with the Coast Guard stationed right out front. The hotel was also the venue for the United States Marine Corps Birthday Ball Galas. It was indeed a special week celebrating Veterans in Wilmington!
Close to 70 Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVER) and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialists were on hand to receive updates on relevant Veterans Affairs, recognize achievements and share best practices.
LVERs are state employees located in the American Job Centers (AJCs). Their principal duties are to:
- Conduct outreach to employers in the area to assist veterans in gaining employment, including conducting seminars for employers and, in conjunction with employers, conducting job search workshops and establishing job search groups; and
- Facilitate employment, training, and placement services furnished to veterans in a State under the applicable State employment service delivery systems.
DVOPs are also state employees housed in the AJCs. Their job duties focus on serving Veterans with “significant barriers to employment,” and other categories of Veterans in accordance with priorities determined by the Secretary of Labor. Significant barriers to employment include homelessness, offender status, low-income, lacking a high school credential, having a service-connected disability and others. DVOPs must:
- Provide intensive services to eligible Veterans and eligible spouses to meet their employment needs, prioritizing service to special disabled and other disabled Veterans, and to other eligible Veterans in accordance with priorities determined by the Secretary of Labor.
- Place maximum emphasis on assisting Veterans who are economically or educationally disadvantaged.
Smiling faces and a packed house for the presentation discussing the National Labor Exchange (NLx) and how it serves veterans.
In our session, DirectEmployers and NASWA discussed the various tools and resources our partnership provides to the Veteran Representatives. In particular, the National Labor Exchange (NLx), the superhighway of job openings that comes from DE and NASWA. With over 2.2 million jobs on the NLx (US.jobs) at any given day, this labor exchange is a magnificent resource for job seekers and those assisting them in their quest for employment.
The National Labor Exchange also provides job indexing, a tool for employers to get their jobs onto the NLx, if they are not currently there already. State microsites (specific pages promoting niche job areas, i.e. Veterans, Disabled, STEM) are another great resource and the NLx is a proud promoter of the Hilton Honors Military Program. This program allows states to authorize Hilton points for Military Personnel to help with travel needs related to employment activities. In addition to these great tools, the NLx is also the feed for hundreds of additional diversity career sites. The sites Vets.gov, Veterans.gov, StudentVeteransofAmerica.jobs, Mynextmove.org, are just a few powered by the NLx.
To wrap up our educational piece, we discussed the difference between Job Listings (as required by the Federal Regulations) and Job Postings (which are not required by the Federal Regulations). Vet Reps receive daily emails of current, real, unduplicated job openings from our DE Members. Through the partnership with NASWA, these jobs are also posted with the State. The important piece for the Vet Reps to know is that the listing is required and may be asked for when a Federal Contractor goes through an OFCCP Compliance Audit. Veterans are to receive priority referrals per the regulations, and these job listings sent to the Vet Reps allow for this process to happen.
The job listings are the “MUST” have, while the state postings are the “NICE” to have. These Vet Reps work hard at turning those job listings into placements for our Veterans. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time getting to know more about this amazing group of individuals, to thank them for their service and to commend them on their passion to continue to serve by helping other Veterans!
