In the News

When discharged from military service, there are many things veterans have to adjust to in civilian life.

One of those things is re-entering the workforce.

In an effort to learn how to make that transition easier for returning veterans, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene of Washington’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Redmond, met with Puget Sound-area employers in the manufacturing industry and representatives from local colleges, veterans’ groups and other organizations at Genie Industries in Redmond on May 23.

During the roundtable conversation, the group discussed DelBene’s bill, the Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act, which if passed, would direct the U.S. Department of Labor to award $50 million in grants over the next five years to establish pilot state manufacturing employment programs to support on-the-job training, apprenticeships and certification classes for eligible veterans through employers and labor-management organizations.

DelBene said the goal of her bill is to accelerate veterans’ abilities to get jobs in the manufacturing sector. She said there are returning veterans who have the needed skills and now they need programs to help match those individuals with the right jobs.

The goal of the conversation was to get feedback from those in attendance to see what needs to be done to make that happen.

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