U.S. Department of Labor Announces Next Step Toward Better Connecting Transitioning Service Members Skills with Employers’ Needs

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that three finalists chosen to build an application to better match transitioning service members’ skills with employers needs will begin field testing on June 22, 2020.

The finalists – Eightfold, LinkedIn and Square Peg Hires – will present their software solutions to transitioning service members (TSMs) from various Army installations through virtual Transition Assistance Program (TAP) courses. The TSMs will evaluate their user experience and provide feedback as part of the competitive review process.

In December 2019, the Department’s Veterans’ Employment Training Service (VETS) – with in-kind support in testing and review from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs – established the Veterans Employment Challenge to develop a better job-matching tool. After three phrases that included more than 50 competitors, the three finalists will begin field testing in the challenge’s fourth phase.

Now more than ever, successfully matching transitioning service members and employers matters,” said Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, John Lowry, “Enabling all veterans to reach their full potential in the workplace is not just about finding a veteran a job, it’s about finding the right job for them.”

Once complete, the Department will announce a pilot prize of $300,000 on July 10, 2020. The pilot prize winner will advance to the challenge’s final phase to demonstrate its job-matching platform to TSMs, TAP instructors and employers from July 27, 2020, to Aug. 21, 2020. If successful, VETS will fully incorporate the job-matching platform into TAP for use by nearly 200,000 TSMs annually and for the potential benefit of millions of veterans looking to improve their employment situation.

VETS’ prepares America’s veterans, service members and their spouses for meaningful careers, provides them with employment resources and expertise, protects their employment rights and promotes their employment opportunities. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, VETS remains at work serving its TSMs, veterans and military spouses along with state workforce agencies and our other partners.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.