In Your Corner
Helping veterans get hired is a team effort. Meet the captain of the team.
By Dan Fazio

If you plan to transition from the military to corporate America, Ray Jefferson might be the most important man you’ve never heard of. With two master’s degrees from Harvard and a résumé loaded with both corporate and government experience, the former Green Beret could be commanding a handsome salary on Wall Street. Instead, he’s advocating for veterans at the head of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), a small government agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. VETS is tasked with the mission of helping veterans prepare for, find and keep good civilian jobs.

‘I Get Really Jazzed’
Jefferson had never heard of VETS in April 2009 when President Obama offered him the opportunity to lead the agency. The West Point grad quickly and passionately embraced the mission.

“I get really jazzed about this, if you can’t tell,” Jefferson told business leaders at a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce breakfast to celebrate the best practices of companies known to be prolific employers of veterans – companies like Travelers, USAA, GE and Walmart. “Helping our nation’s veterans is a noble errand. Nothing can be more honorable, nothing can be more inspiring.”

Jefferson wasted no time. In his first 18 months, he mapped out plans to overhaul the Transition Assistance Program, launched a partnership with Job Corps aimed at training young veterans in the trades, and implemented a program to reach out to veterans in rural America. He also forged a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to take the “hire veterans” message to America’s business leaders.

Jefferson’s energetic leadership recently earned praise from his boss, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “He has worked tirelessly for the last 18, 19 months,” she said. “I know that we have much more to accomplish, but under his leadership I know we can bring so many more people together to understand the importance and sacrifices of our veterans, their families and their communities.”

First to Serve
Jefferson’s journey to VETS began in upstate New York. Jefferson was sitting in the guidance office of his junior high school in Guilderland, a small town near Albany, when he noticed a brochure for West Point on the coffee table. No one in his family had ever served in the military, and Jefferson was immediately intrigued by the thought.

“So I saw this admissions catalogue for West Point and I thought this would be exciting and adventurous – it would prepare me well for life, leadership,” he recalled. “And I also wanted to serve my country. This idea of service and helping others and leadership were things I developed a real interest in during high school. And so that picture stayed with me.”

Special Forces
Jefferson graduated from West Point in 1988 and, after several years serving in the Presidential Honor Guard, led an infantry platoon in the 3rd Ranger Battalion. In 1992, he completed Special Forces training.

On Oct. 18, 1995, Jefferson was serving with the 1st Special Forces Group in Asia when his life changed forever. “I remember driving out to do the training that morning thinking that I’d be in my bed that night listening to jazz music, but little did I know that life had other plans.”

Late in the day, Jefferson and his teammates were conducting an exercise in an enclosed area. Jefferson was holding a grenade when a telltale pop told him it was about to detonate prematurely. With nowhere to safely throw it, Jefferson pressed the grenade to his side – a decision that cost him all of the fingers on his left hand and peppered his thigh with shrapnel. He spent six months in and out of hospitals, bouncing between pessimism and the possibilities his new life presented.

“But from there I just started to create a dream, and it was that I could make something of myself,” he said. “I wanted to help people and organizations achieve their potential, and also overcome adversity, and overcome setbacks. So those themes have been present throughout my career.”

Offer He Couldn’t Refuse
Jefferson earned an MBA and an MPA from Harvard University. After graduating, he was selected as a White House Fellow, where he worked as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Jefferson then served as a Fulbright Fellow in Singapore, where he would later teach corporate leadership for McKinsey & Company.

In October 2008, Jefferson’s military connections led to an invitation to join Obama’s transition team as a consultant to the Department of Veterans Affairs. “Then I got a call from the White House saying there’s this agency at (the Department of) Labor called Veterans Employment and Training Service – we think it would be a good fit for you there,” he recalled.

The assignment offered him the opportunity to combine the leadership skills he had honed in the military, and in the private and the public sectors. “So to bring all of those together – to bring best practices from Harvard Business School and Kennedy School, leverage what I learned as a White House Fellow, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to serve, and I was thrilled by it.”

Overhauling TAP
Jefferson began his tenure at VETS by leading the effort to revamp the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), a two-and-a-half day workshop designed to help veterans prepare for the civilian job hunt. The workshop, which consists of 186 PowerPoint slides, has changed little since it was introduced in 1992. The TAP overhaul, which could be completed this summer, will segment transitioning service members into three groups according to how well prepared they are for the job search, Jefferson said.

“We benchmarked and asked the question: Who’s the best in America at career transition? Who’s the best in the world at career transition?” Jefferson said. “Interestingly, it’s Denmark, Norway and Australia. So we went ahead and got all those best practices.”

On TAP
The new program will be more interactive than its predecessor. It will feature an e-learning platform that allows veterans to “dive deep,” as well as networking, storytelling, career planning and mental resiliency training. It also will include “After TAP Support,” which will allow veterans to consult a hotline for advice for up to 60 or 90 days after they separate. Veterans’ success in finding a job and feedback from transitioners themselves will be used to adjust the curriculum.

“It will be one of the best that can be found in the world when it is launched, and it’s going to become obsolete 90 days later, which is why we’re going to have a continual and improving element to it,” Jefferson said. “We want to be a learning organization and a learning culture.”

Job Corps Program
Addressing the high unemployment rate among veterans in the 20 to 24 age group was high on Jefferson’s ‘to do’ list. Although only slightly higher than the jobless rate of their civilian counterparts, this group warranted immediate attention.

In July, VETS launched a pilot program with Job Corps that offers veterans in this age group six to eight months of accelerated job training in a variety of fields. The program pays all expenses during training, including housing and transportation. It’s a program Jefferson hopes will be offered nationwide.

“So if you’re 20 to 24 years old, you’re a veteran, you’re unemployed and you’re wondering, ‘What do I do?’ this is a one-stop solution,” he said. “It’s incredible.”

For details about the program, visit www.gijobs.com/jobcorps.

Reaching Out to Rural Vets
In October, VETS launched a pilot program in Washington state to reach out to another group that often falls through the cracks: veterans who live in rural communities. The program is designed to alert these veterans to the resources that can help them find jobs.

“Veterans in rural America are often forgotten about, overlooked and underserved,” Jefferson said. “So we in the first time in our history have the ability to get boots on the ground and knock on their door if they want us to, and give them personalized information on the employment services and programs available to them.”

The program will be expanded to six states in the second phase, and ultimately nationwide. For information, visit www.gijobs.com/ruralvets.

Connecting with Corporate America
Jefferson also recognized the importance of taking the business case for hiring veterans to corporate America. Hiring vets is not just patriotic – it makes good business sense because of the skills, talent and experience veterans have to offer. Getting this message in front of America’s employers is paramount to the VETS mission.

“So how valuable is it to an employer to bring someone on who already knows how to do the job you need them to do and has been proven successful in some of the most challenging circumstances,” he said. “And you add reliability, sense of duty, perseverance – all those military values – on top of that skill set and you have a tremendous peak performer there.”

Both Jefferson and Secretary Solis speak to CEOs and business associations about the value of hiring veterans every chance they get.

“America’s businesses should view vets as ‘employees of choice,’” Solis said. “Veterans are qualified, committed job candidates with transferable skills that are proven in real world situations. They grasp new concepts quickly and work well both independently and as part of a team — highly prized skills in today’s workplace.”

Taking It to the Streets
Smaller companies and small businesses also can capitalize on the talents of America’s veterans. To take the “hire veterans” message to Main Street America, VETS in October teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Launched initially in 14 states, VETS state directors are making presentations to roomfuls of business owners and leaders at chamber meetings.

“And after the chamber, we’re going to be engaging the Society of Human Resource Management, the economic development boards, the business roundtables, the high-tech associations, the Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs,” Jefferson said. “We want to be out there where the employers are making sure they know how to find veteran talent in their communities.”

For more information about this program, visit www.gijobs.com/chamber.

Secret to Success
Jefferson and his VETS team are working long hours to ensure America’s warriors can find good jobs when they get home. But ultimately, helping veterans succeed in the civilian work force is going to take a true team effort, Jefferson said.

“The tasks and the needs that our veterans and their families have are too great for any one agency to do alone,” he said. “This requires all of us working together synergistically – the public, the private and the non-profit sectors. If our men and women can serve, suffer and sacrifice over there together, then we should all be able to come together to support and assist them over here.”

What is VETS?
Veterans’ Employment & Training Service (VETS) is agency of the U.S. Department of Labor

The Mission:

• Help veterans prepare to find jobs
• Help veterans find jobs
• Help veterans protect their jobs
  

HQ: Washington, D.C.
Employees: 243
Founded: 1981
Website: www.dol.gov/vets