President Barack Obama drops by an Interagency Council on Veterans Employment meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 30, 2011.  (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)  This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Washington, DC - Today, at the White House, the President’s Council on Veterans Employment, which is made up of 24 Cabinet-level and other independent agencies, outlined the progress made in implementing Executive Order 13518, Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government.  Council Co-chair and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Acting Co-Chairman and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor Seth Harris, Vice Chairman and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry, and other agency heads noted that thousands more Veterans have been recently hired by federal agencies.  Also in attendance were other senior administration officials.

“President Obama has charged us with honoring the nation’s sacred trust with our Veterans by doing all we can to help them find work when they come home.  They fought to protect the American Dream, and they should never feel that it is out of their reach.  That’s why we have focused so intently on hiring Veterans in the public service – men and women who understand the sense of duty and country that should define our federal workforce,” Veterans said Director Berry.  “We have successfully increased the percentage of Veterans hired in the federal government.  Due to general employment patterns, the first quarter numbers tend to spike, but we are still encouraged by the fact that in the first half of this fiscal year, our percentage of Veterans hired is better than during the same segment of time in any of the last six years.  This is a testament to the hard work and diligence of our partners on the Veterans Employment Council, and our dedicated employees here at OPM.”

The federal government hired 34,788 total Veterans in the first half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 (between October and March) compared to 32,825 in the first half of FY 2010; approximately 2,000 more Veterans.  Additionally, Veterans were 33.3 percent of total new hires across the federal government in the first half of FY 2011.  This is an increase of three percentage points from the same period in FY 2010.

The goal of the President’s Veteran Employment Initiative is to help federal agencies identify qualified Veterans, clarify the hiring process for Veterans seeking employment with the federal government, and help them to adjust to the civilian work environment once they are hired.  Much has been accomplished since the signing of the Executive Order in November 2009.

The following additional milestone accomplishments also highlight the progress made in support of the initiative:

• The launch of “Mil2Feds” in May 2011, the first ever military occupation to federal occupation translator.
• The adoption of a Hiring Percentage Model by members of the President’s Interagency Council on Veterans Employment in September 2010, which guides an agency’s goal setting based on the current percentage of Veterans hired, to include disabled Veterans.
• The establishment of Veterans Employment Program Offices in 24 federal agencies in March 2010.
• The development of a governmentwide Strategic Plan on Veteran recruitment and employment which was released in January 2010.
• The creation of a governmentwide marketing campaign on the value of Veterans, which launched in November 2009, and launching the www.FedsHireVets.gov website in January 2010, which established an information gateway on federal employment for Veterans.

For additional information please visit www.FedsHireVets.gov.