Feds unveil veteran job portal

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki unveiled a new portal on their departments’ websites designed to help military veterans find jobs in the transportation industry.

“Our transportation industry needs pilots, controllers, mechanics and drivers — the very kinds of skills that our military is known for developing,” LaHood said. “This new Web link will help repay the debt we owe our veterans for their service to our country.”

The portal on the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs websites will link to the Veterans Transportation Career Center, where former members of the armed forces can enter their specific military work experience and see how it translates to jobs in the civilian working world. The site will guide veterans to jobs in five categories: aviation pilot, aviation maintenance technician, air traffic controller, commercial motor vehicle driver and emergency medical services.

Job seekers can find what training and certification is needed for civilian jobs, determine what career fits best with their background, and search for available jobs in their field. The portals are available at www.dot.gov and www.va.gov.

Secretaries LaHood and Shinseki announced the new portal at an aviation-workforce management conference held at U.S. DOT headquarters in Washington. The conference on labor-management relations was first formed in response to a recommendation made by the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee (FAAC), which was convened by Secretary LaHood in 2010. The FAAC recommended that U.S. DOT hold events like this to bolster labor-management relations.