Today, our veterans are leaving the service to enter an economy that is improving, but still flat; finding a good job is much harder for most of the men and women returning from war or transferring their families to another duty station.
In 2011, Microsoft announced the Elevate America Veterans Initiative in partnership with the Department of Labor, which will provide additional support to veterans in their transition to the civilian workforce. Here in Northeast Florida, one of just four regions in the country to receive the grant, Microsoft is offering 2,000 technology training and certification packages to local U.S. military veterans and spouses over a two year period. The technology training and certification will be available at intermediate and advanced levels and delivered through e-learning. This partnership is an extension of the overall Microsoft Elevate America Veterans Initiative which makes a national investment of $12 million in cash, product and related support for U.S. veterans.
WorkSource has received 700 vouchers for Intermediate IT skills (IT skills for all jobs based on MS Office 2010 and Windows) and 300 Advanced IT skills vouchers. Trainees can also receive a voucher for free certification testing. The vouchers are good for up to 12 months from receipt. Honorably discharged military veterans and their spouses can come into any WorkSource Career Center or Mobile Access Point to learn more about the training vouchers. We’ll assess their current IT skills and give them information about the training, certifications and the technology and computing requirements for downloading the training at home.
If you know a veteran or military spouse who could benefit from this IT training, ask them to visit a WorkSource Career Center and ask for a veteran rep. You can read more about the Microsoft Elevate America Veterans Initiative and other training here.
WorkSource thanks all veterans for their service to our country, and is proud to count many veterans and military spouses among our staff members.
