"VA Office of Economic Opportunity" Veteran Employment Center (VEC) and VA for Vets Update

October 11, 2014

By Curtis L. Coy

Colleagues and Fellow Veterans,

First, a brief clarification on the note I sent concerning the Veterans in Piping (VIP) program. VIP is open to military personnel preparing to leave the service and currently stationed at a participating base.

Participants must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and be physically capable of performing work. For more information, visit http://www.uavip.org/. Certainly apologize for any confusion – my fault.

Want to provide you a brief update on VA’s two websites for Veteran employment, the Veterans Employment Center (VEC) and VA for Vets.

We have worked hard to ensure that the relatively new VEC (http://www.ebenefits.va.gov/jobs) is the single interagency site for Veteran employment. As such we have leveraged many of the tools that had are on the VA for Vets web site are now incorporated into the VEC. Some of those tools such as the Military Skills Translator, Resume Builder and Federal Job Search functions will no longer be on the VA for Vets web site as they are on the VEC site. All resumes, dashboards, skills assessments, etc., built on VA for Vets should be downloaded and stored on personal computers by December 1, 2014 as the information will no longer be available. Veterans are encouraged to visit the VEC in advance of the tools being removed from VA for Vets to create a new profile and ensure their information is available to prospective employers on the VEC.

Veterans will continue to have access to the high-touch career readiness services provided by Veteran Employment Services Office’s (VESO) staff, VA-specific job opportunities, information on the federal hiring process, training information, checklists, and guides on building resumes for federal occupations. Veterans will still use the same URL to access the VA for Vets sitehttp://vaforvets.va.gov/Pages/default.aspx however; they will need to reestablish bookmarks/favorites to the URL. Veterans can always call 1-855-VA4Vets (1-855-824-8387) with questions regarding the information on the VA for Vets website or career readiness services.

Bottom line, we want to avoid any duplication and confusion to better service all of you. For a tutorial video on how to use the Veterans Employment Center, visit

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V/R

Curtis L. Coy

Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity

Veterans Benefits Administration

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

VA Core Values: Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, Excellence (“I CARE”)

Please Remember:

If you would like to review prior messages sent through this listserv, clickhttp://benefits.va.gov/vow/economic_opportunity.htm.
If you would like to research, find, access, and, in time, manage your VA benefits and personal information please visit and/or register at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal.
If you looking for a job or an employer committed to hiring Veterans, please register on the Veterans Employment Center (VEC) at: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs

If you would like to contact us about your VA education benefits:

You can send us a secure email that will usually be answered within 48 hours. You can also search for answers to frequently asked questions and register to be notified of any updates to the information. This contact method is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can also be utilized worldwide. Click here to enter the "Ask A Question" site or here to review our frequently asked questions.

You can call 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). This line only accepts calls from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM central time Monday – Friday