Veterans Day Employment: Serving Those Who Served Us All

Meet Douglas Lapsley, a 23-year U.S. Army Veteran who found his stride, post service, in the civilian workforce. Thanks to the VET² program, a collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Department of Economic Development's Workforce Division, veterans like Lapsley are entering rewarding careers in Georgia. VET² has several different courses that are eligible for WIOA funding through WorkSource Georgia.  Lapsey participated in the highly successful VET² Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Program through WorkSource Coastal.

Watch the feature from WTOC.com below:

Georgia is home to more than 750,000 veterans. With the national veteran unemployment rate at 4.3%, just shy of the national overall unemployment rate of 4.9%, the Georgia Department of Economic Development's Workforce Division implemented a veteran-employment initiative for our military heroes.

Operation: Workforce, is the State of Georgia's veteran and transitioning service member employment initiative. This program works to connect current and former service members with WorkSource Georgia, the state's newly-branded workforce system, and also connects Georgia businesses with a highly-skilled and trained workforce. This is accomplished through OpertationWorkforce.com, which hosts a job portal and provides access to employment-driven resources.

One of Georgia's greatest assets, in terms of workforce, is a concentration of military heroes who are joining high-demand industries throughout the state. Our efforts are geared to ensure that these deserving men and women make a smooth transition into the private sector.

-Deputy Commissioner of Workforce, Ben Hames

Of the more than 750,000 veterans in Georgia, more than 8,000 of those are registered on OperationWorkforce.com.

[caption id="attachment_38059" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Operation: Workforce Program Manager greets participants of a recent Veteran-Employment Summit Operation: Workforce Program Manager greets participants of a recent Veteran-Employment Summit[/caption]

Veterans aren't the only ones that benefit from OperationWorkforce.com. Employers are also encouraged to register online and connect with some of Georgia's most skilled and talented workers. In fact, there are currently more than 1,000 Georgia employers registered on the website.

Here's a message from Governor Nathan Deal to employers, as seen on OperationWorkforce.com:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUIuhgNs43c]

For more information on Georgia's veteran-employment initiative, visit OperationWorkforce.com or contact Operation: Workforce Program Manager, Margaret Miller, at [email protected].