On September 10,  the White House and VA hosted a roundtable that brought together key leaders to discuss better ways to prepare transitioning veterans into civilian life. The discussion is part of the White House’s Skills and Demand-Driven Training Initiative.

According to the Press Release, each year, 250,000 servicememebers leave the military behind and transition into civilian life, wondering, what’s next? The Department of Veterans Affairs is exploring ways to incorporate accelerated learning programs to assist  transitioning veterans. These programs will help bridge the gap between service life and the civilian workforce to create a successful employment outcome.

“We must do all that we can to make sure our Veterans who were ready for war are also ready for life outside the military,” said VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson. “We talk a lot about how hiring Veterans is the right thing to do.  The fact is hiring Veterans is the smart thing to do, and we must do all that we can to support them.”

Individuals will pursue intensive or self-paced learning to develop career and industry skills to better their career oppotunities. In the first phase, VA is focusing on information technology, due to the high-demand nature of jobs in the IT industry. The ALP could produce a nontraditional approach to education with varied learning styles that may yield competitive job skills and employment opportunities.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will do additional research and evaluations of these methods. The insight provided by industry leaders and educators will test the effectiveness in targeted communities to indicate long-term success of veterans and transitioning servicememebers.