Every year, hundreds of thousands of dedicated service members transition from military service to civilian life, bringing with them unparalleled discipline, leadership, and technical skills. However, the process of translating those achievements into a successful civilian career is often complex. Veterans frequently face challenges like deciphering their military experience for civilian resumes and navigating a new professional culture. This Veterans Day, we explore how government programs can address veterans' needs, such as skill transfer, job search assistance, and access to training programs, ensuring a smooth transition to civilian life.
This Q&A from a recent webinar hosted by Geographic Solutions focuses on the North Carolina Works Veteran Portal, which assists veterans transitioning to civilian jobs. Chris Silvers and Amy Pritchett from the North Carolina Department of Commerce discussed the portal's development, challenges, and features such as the military occupational code (MOC) job search, Veterans Crisis Line, and HIREvets Medallion program. They highlighted the portal's accessibility to veterans and their spouses, along with the importance of personalized resources and collaborative efforts.
SPEAKERS
Q: Among the key challenges in designing and launching the NC Works veterans portal, what are some of the main issues you’re encountering while working with veterans in North Carolina?
Chris Silvers:
One of our challenges was developing the overall concept. Initially, we started with a mobile app designed exclusively for veterans to provide support. This app was our initial approach before we transitioned to what is now known as our veterans portal. Creating and refining this concept was a key part of our process.
The other challenge was the content. We aimed to deliver all essential information to veterans without overwhelming them. Given the vast amount of information available today, we wanted to share it all, but in a manageable way. It took nearly 10 months from initial mock-up to go into production, giving us ample time to address many challenges. However, some issues persist, such as keeping resource links current. We provide numerous resources to veterans, but sometimes these links become inactive, their certificates expire, or the websites themselves go offline. We typically review them quarterly, but whenever our staff identifies issues, we aim to get them fixed as soon as possible.
Another challenge we sometimes mention, especially for anyone planning to do this in the future, is that we often have trouble agreeing on logos or colors. That was one of the hurdles we encountered, but we finally resolved those issues, and I think it looks good now. Those were our biggest challenges.
Q: We know that the NC Works general site is for all job seekers, but the veteran site is tailored to their specific needs. So how does the portal specifically address those unique needs compared to the general NC Works site?
Amy Pritchett:
Yes, as you mentioned, our NCWorks site covers all the needs of individuals and employers for workforce activities, including job connections, training, and Labor Market Information (LMI) data access. With the NC Works veterans portal, we've adapted this concept specifically for veterans and employers hiring veterans. Essentially, the veterans portal builds on our NCWorks platform, providing the same features but tailored to veterans' needs. When veterans visit the portal, they should feel it's designed for them. We've added a Military Occupational Code (MOC) search feature to the homepage for job searches. This MOC job search is also accessible under the Employment tab of the Veterans Portal.
To better serve veterans, we've also added the Veterans Crisis Line to the footer of every page on the portal. We believe it's important to provide a quick link or contact number for them, which is accessible on all pages. Additionally, veterans can view the portal without logging in, which includes access to all our resources and links. Overall, while it offers the same functionalities as NCWorks, we tailored it more specifically to meet veterans' needs and provide relevant resources.
Q: We understand the Florida Veterans Portal may have inspired the North Carolina version. Could you specify which features you adopted from Florida and outline the innovations North Carolina added to improve that model?
Chris Silvers:
Our initial inspiration came in 2017 when our Employment Services Director saw the Florida site and recognized its potential. We adopted the Geographic Solutions general portal structure and many of the default resources, such as employment links for job seekers and employers. Where we really focused our innovation was in creating specialized tools and localized content to better serve our specific veteran population.
One of our most significant additions is the feature sometimes called the MOC crosswalk, which Amy previously mentioned. This tool allows veterans to input their MOC and automatically translate those military skills into corresponding civilian job skills; this is essential during the transition phase. recognizing that many service members may be new to the civilian job market, we created direct, highly visible links to local and regional job fairs specific to where they are transitioning, alongside ensuring easy access to links for utilizing the GI Bill and other education/training programs.
In September 2021, we added a feature that integrates direct links and search capabilities for employers participating in the Department of Labor’s HIREVets Medallion Program, helping veterans specifically target demonstrably vet-friendly employers. Finally, to make the portal feel truly ours, we replaced the generic stock photos with high-quality, personalized images taken directly from the various military bases across North Carolina, creating a much more relatable and welcoming aesthetic compared to other representative portals.
Q: What do you think are some challenges veterans encounter when transitioning from military service to civilian employment? Additionally, how does the NC Works veterans portal assist in addressing these challenges?
Amy Pritchett:
Veterans encounter many challenges when transitioning from military to civilian employment. These include translating military skills into civilian language, navigating unfamiliar job markets, figuring out hiring processes, and understanding the differences between corporate culture and military culture. They may also have difficulty or face challenges in identifying career pathways that match their military experience, accessing training or certification programs, or building professional networks outside of their military community.
The NC Works veterans portal is designed to help address these challenges by providing a centralized platform specifically for veterans and their families. It offers tools like the MOC search to help transfer military skills to civilian roles, along with career counseling, job search support, resume translation, training resources, and connections to employers who value military experience. Additionally, it links veterans to supportive services such as education, employment workshops, and partner agencies, ensuring they receive the guidance and resources needed for a successful transition to meaningful civilian careers.
Q: What kind of incentives or benefits do employers receive, besides the exceptional employees they gain from participating in the medallions program?
Chris Silvers:
The program has been very successful, and our veterans portal specifically targets employers that qualify for the HIREVets Medallion program and their job listings. This program is the Department of Labor's only federal award recognizing a company's commitment to hiring, retaining, and supporting veterans in professional development.
What's interesting is that employers participate primarily for visibility, as there are no direct monetary incentives offered. Their main benefit, besides gaining great employees, is the prominent recognition on our site.
The medallion structure itself is tiered based on employer size—small, medium, and large—with varying eligibility criteria for each. Employers can strive for either Platinum or Gold status, each requiring them to meet specific benchmarks regarding the number of veterans hired, retention rates, and the frequency and depth of professional development offered. In our system, we visually represent this by displaying the actual medallions directly next to the employer names and their job listings. This instantly signals to veterans, and frankly to any job seeker, that these employers are highly regarded and committed to a veteran-friendly workplace.
Final Thoughts:
We want to thank Amy and Chris again for taking the time to join us today, and a special thank you to all of our veterans. We truly appreciate your service and are excited to showcase your contributions. We're also proud to highlight our partner’s NC Works veteran portal, which offers vital resources to help individuals transition seamlessly to civilian life.
Follow the link here to listen to the full webinar