President Obama announces job training services for veterans

By Laura Myers
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Jul. 23, 2012 | 10:51 a.m.


RENO - Seeking the veterans' vote in hard economic times, President Barack Obama on Monday announced an overhaul of job training and transition services for the men and women returning from war, saying it's still too tough to find jobs despite the skills they learned in the military.

"We're going to set up a kind of reverse boot camp," Obama said, addressing the annual convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said it would provide more job training, education and advice for starting new businesses with the goal of boosting veterans' "career readiness."

"Our American veterans have the skills America needs," Obama said to mostly polite applause from several thousand veterans at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. "So today, our economy is growing and creating jobs, but it's still too hard for too many folks to find work, especially our younger veterans, our veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan."

The jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans fell in June to 9.5 percent, down from 12.7 percent the previous month and 13.3 percent in June 2011. Among veterans coming home, the jobless rate has been seesawing .
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