The U.S. Army is trying help veterans get jobs, by dispelling myths and allaying employer fears about the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
This week, as part of Warrior Care Month, the Army launched its “Hire a Veteran” education campaign.
http://www.wtc.army.mil/releases/WCM_campaign_pressRelease_v11.pdf
Research recently conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) spelled out the three key challenges to veteran employment: concern about the impact of PTSD and TBI on job performance; the cost of reasonable accommodations for the disabled: and the lack of knowledge on how military skills translate to non-military jobs.
The Army’s education campaign will try to debunk myths about vets and PTSD and TBI, and includes a video and online employer toolkit that can be downloaded at www.WTC.army.mil/employers.
“The Army rehabilitated and returned 50 percent of our wounded, ill and injured soldiers back to the force to continue to serve, and we are not stopping there,” Brig. Gen. David Bishop, commander of the Warrior Transition Command, said in a statement.
“For those who don’t return to service, we are doing all we can to support their long-term success as veterans. Our ‘Hire a Veteran’ campaign aims to reduce anxiety around hiring a veteran and level the hiring field for our troops.”
According to an Army press release, research conducted by the SHRM:
* 53 percent of survey respondents didn’t know whether workers with PTSD are more likely than others to commit acts of workplace violence, and 8 percent thought that workers with PTSD are more likely to commit acts of workplace violence.
* 61 percent of survey respondents believe that accommodating workers with disabilities such as PTSD or TBI required more effort on the employer.
* 14 percent of survey respondents thought it is costly to accommodate workers with disabilities such as PTSD or TBI. Most respondents (52 percent) didn’t know.
The SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Founded in 1948, SHRM represents more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries.
The U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command (WTC) is a major subordinate command under the U.S. Army Medical Command. It provides oversight for the Warrior Care and Transition Program that is implemented at the Army’s 29 Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) where more than 10,000 wounded, ill and injured soldiers receive complex medical care for more than six months.
At WTUs each soldier develops a personalized comprehensive transition plan with short- and long-term goals in six domains: physical, social, spiritual, emotional, family and career. Currently, 9.7 percent of WTU soldiers were wounded in combat; however, 87 percent previously served in combat at some point in their Army careers.
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