More Than 200 Veterans Are Currently Enrolled At MVCC Using VA Benefits Standing With Student Veterans at Mohawk Valley Community College, Gillibrand Announces Legislation to Assist Veterans in Education, Job Training and Skill Recognition
PoliticalNews.me - May 14,2012 - Standing With Student Veterans at Mohawk Valley Community College, Gillibrand Announces Legislation to Assist Veterans in Education, Job Training and Skill Recognition
More Than 200 Veterans Are Currently Enrolled At MVCC Using VA Benefits
Rome, NY –Standing with student veterans at Mohawk Valley Community College, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced bipartisan legislation to help provide education and job training for young veterans, and streamline certification processes for civilian jobs.
Last year, Senator Gillibrand hosted a roundtable with local business and veterans leaders to discuss innovative ways to address veterans’ unemployment in the Mohawk Valley. As a result, Senator Gillibrand helped pass a bipartisan VOW To Hire Heroes Act to address unacceptably high rates of unemployment among veterans by ensuring that all troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have the necessary tools for a seamless transition from military service to the civilian workforce. This law included measures to incentivize their hiring and ease their transition into the work force. Now Senator Gillibrand is working on legislation that would make training more accessible, protect veterans’ access to education, and ease hiring processes for veterans.
“This new legislation is an important investment for our heroes,” Senator Gillibrand said. “We must provide veterans with access to the necessary resources which allow them to get the education, job training and appropriate licensing that will ease their transition from military life to the civilian work force. Our veterans have earned this and it’s the least we can do to give them the appropriate tools needed to be successful in their life after the military.”
“Like many community colleges, meeting veterans’ educational needs is a significant part of MVCC’s tradition. The needs of our proud military men and women are greater than ever. So we are working harder and smarter than ever to promote their success in college and to connect them with career options for successful transitions from the armed forces to the civilian workforce,” said Randall J. VanWagoner, Ph.D., President. “Legislation that makes education for veterans more efficient, more accountable, and more focused is well aligned with our mission and we look forward to expanding the support we can provide to students who have served.”
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said, “I strongly believe that all of us who enjoy the blessings of liberty and our way of life have a very clear obligation to assist our veterans in making the transition back to our community. Getting the right training for the right jobs is an important way that we can do that. Mohawk Valley Community College has already shown a commitment to work with our local veterans and help them acquire the education and training needed for success. I applaud Senator Gillibrand for her package of legislation on behalf of our veterans. Working together, we can help our veterans and their families overcome barriers they face due to the stress and hardships of veterans’ service to our country.”
