Myrtle Beach, SC - U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James took another opportunity to encourage veterans to apply for jobs in the federal government. Speaking on behalf of Director James to participants at this week's annual Blinded Veterans Association convention, Tracy Underwood, a veteran and member of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) outreach division, highlighted the many opportunities available to veterans in the United States government and reiterated the administration's commitment to veterans' preference in the federal hiring process.

OPM has developed aggressive recruitment plans to attract new workers to the federal work force. One such program is the Veteran Invitational Program (VIP). VIP targets veterans nationwide by providing informative educational tools and publications to Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) and federal regional offices of Veterans' Affairs, Department of Labor as well as military base transition offices. The VIP educates veterans by quickly and accurately distributing information on job opportunities in the federal work force. OPM has also recently updated its www.usajobs.gov website enabling job seekers to more easily access and navigate through all available federal jobs.

Director James' message through Underwood was "Veterans represent a highly qualified and motivated skill pool that must be tapped into if we are to maintain a high quality work force in the future. Veterans' preference is both the law of the land and an important tool that allows agencies to reach skilled, experienced and dedicated professionals who have proven themselves in some of the most difficult of circumstances all over the world," James strongly stressed. "Our veterans have put their lives on the line for the freedom we enjoy in America. It is our responsibility to ensure they are given every opportunity to join the federal civil service when their military service concludes."

Director James recently issued a memorandum to heads of agencies and departments encouraging them to hire veterans, and OPM is also exploring an opportunity to partner with the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service to develop a training program to assist federal agencies in recruiting and hiring veterans.

OPM not only sponsors the VIP and participates in veteran-focused events, but also meets quarterly with VSOs to hear their concerns regarding issues of importance to veterans and to enlist their help in identifying and eliminating obstacles to employment of veterans.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.