The March Toward Employment - Accenture/media/accenture/...civilian workforce, and Hiring Our...

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The March Toward Employment A Look at the Jobs Picture for Veterans Accenture Federal Services

Transcript of The March Toward Employment - Accenture/media/accenture/...civilian workforce, and Hiring Our...

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The March Toward EmploymentA Look at the Jobs Picture for Veterans

Accenture Federal Services

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Introduction No Easy Road

Accenture conducted a survey in October 2013 among employed and unemployed veterans to gain a better understanding of what it’s like transitioning from military to civilian employment. We found that while older vets are largely enjoying lower unemployment rates and larger salaries, younger vets are struggling though a still-sluggish economy to find work.

The good news is there are a number of government and private programs aimed at providing training and jobs for vets—the GI Bill, disability aid and tax credits for private employers who hire

veterans, to name a few. Accenture offers vets a number of resources, including Military Career Coach, an online tool to help veterans translate their skills to the civilian workforce, and Hiring Our Heroes, a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to help veterans and their spouses find employment.

At Accenture, we feel a special responsibility toward those who have served our country. We, like many employers around the U.S., will continue to find ways to help this special community of exceptional individuals find meaningful work.

Veterans face a host of challenges, especially in the job market after their service. Young veterans in particular are facing difficulties finding jobs after they’ve completed their military service. National data show that vets 25 and younger struggle with higher unemployment rates than non-veterans. And many of these people have been looking for work for more than a year.

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Key Findings

Age, Earning Potential and EducationWhile veterans generally have a lower unemployment rate than most citizens, post-9/11 vets and vets under 25 are struggling to find work. Overall, the unemployment rate for vets is slightly lower than for civilians by about .3 percent, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Vets have a 7 percent employment rate while the general population unemployment rate is 7.3 percent.1 The .3 percent gap, in fact, is historically low. Vet unemployment rates have long been notably lower than non-vet rates, by as much as nearly 2 percent. (see Figure 1)

Despite a positive trend in employment for veterans overall, younger vets in particular are facing special challenges. Post-9/11 vets and those under 25 are experiencing

unemployment rates more than 3 percent higher than non-vets (10 percent versus 6.8 percent), according to BLS data from October 2013.2

On a more positive note, earning potential for vets is higher. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, male veterans earn roughly 11 percent more than their civilian counterparts, and female veterans earn about 19 percent more than non-veterans.3 In real money terms, while the median annual salary for male non-veterans is $46,300, male veterans earn $51,600 on average per year. And while female non-veterans earn an average annual salary of $36,900, female veterans earn $43,900 per year. (see Figures 2 and 3)

Figure 1: Unemployment rates (in percent)

Quick Fact: Between 2007 and 2011, there were 22.2 million veterans in the United States.5

Veterans who land civilian jobs in the same career field as that of their military service are earning the most—74 percent of this group say they earn $50,000 or more annually compared to 43 percent of veterans who work in a different field, according to the Accenture study.4 Furthermore, while about 46 percent of employed vets overall said their salary increased in the civilian workforce, an even higher percentage of those working in a field similar to their military service (52 percent) said their salary increased in the civilian workforce. (see Figure 4)

While their military background appears to serve them well in terms of salaries, many veterans have said that military service alone is not enough to land a job. Education plays a critical part as well. According to the Accenture study, 53 percent of employed vets say their service played a significant role in helping them land a full time job, while 33 percent said it was the single biggest factor. Additional education appears to be an important factor for vets seeking work—69 percent of employed vets have taken additional classes or participated in training programs since leaving the military.

Despite the value of their military training alongside this additional education, however, translating military skills into civilian jobs remains challenging for many vets. According to the Accenture study, 36 percent of unemployed veterans say turning their military skills into civilian workforce skills is the biggest challenge in their job search. Unemployed veterans said they have applied for an average of 30 positions and have been on an average of six interviews but have not landed a job, and 34 percent have been looking for work for a year or more.

Figure 2: Salary increase, decrease or no change after transitioning from military to civilian workforce

Figure 3: Total personal income in 2012 excluding military pay or benefits

Figure 4: Salary increase, decrease or no change after transitioning from military to civilian workforce

Accenture | 5 4 | Veteran Employment Survey

1Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.nr0.htm2Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t05.htm3Source: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/Profile_of_Veterans_2011.pdf , p.13

4Source: Accenture survey of 1,000 U.S. veterans, Oct. 20135Ibid

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The LandscapeThe Accenture survey looked at a broad swath of employed and unemployed veterans across the U.S. According to the findings, employed vets are more likely to have been out of the military six to 10 years, while the largest percentage of unemployed veterans left the military within the last five years. Unemployed vets are also more likely to have served in the Army. Of vets deployed overseas, those who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or both are more likely to still be unemployed than those who served elsewhere. (see Figures 5-8)

The survey showed that employed veterans are more likely to be older, married with an employed spouse and more likely to have a college or advanced degree. The unemployed vets are more likely to be younger (the largest percentage is under 35) and less likely to have an advanced education. (see Figures 9-13)

Currently unemployed vets are in a longer unemployment spell than employed veterans had to endure prior to finding a job. The Accenture research shows that while only 15 percent of employed vets say it took more than a year find their

first civilian job, 34 percent of unemployed vets have been seeking work for more than a year. (see Figure 14)

What’s more, unemployed vets say they are willing to make sacrifices to find the job they want. Based on employed veterans’ experience, unemployed vets should especially consider accepting a job with lower pay or benefits, changing their career or going back to school to land a job. (see Figure 15)

Figure 5: Separated from military

Figure 7: Enlisted Figure 8: Overseas

Figure 6: Military Branch

Figure 9: Age Figure 10: Gender

Figure 11: Marriage Figure 12: Spouse employment

Figure 13: Education

Accenture | 7 6 | Veteran Employment Survey

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35% 62%

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Quick Facts:The veteran population is projected to drop from about 23 million (as of 2010) to fewer than 15 million by 2040. However, the female vet population is expected to rise by about 8 percentage points (comprising up to nearly 18 percent of the entire vet population) by 2040.6

Figure 14: Length of time looking for work

Figure 15: Actions vets would take to find the job they want

Accenture | 9 8 | Veteran Employment Survey

6U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/quickfacts/Population_slideshow.pdf

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Key Job Hunting Assets Having the right skills is clearly a critical factor in any job search. Vets believe they have an unusual advantage in this regard, with most employed veterans saying their military background played a significant role in helping them land their job. However, while the survey shows that employed veterans clearly prioritized their military backgrounds in their job search, unemployed vets are more likely to value all of their skills equally, potentially overlooking

the full value of their military backgrounds. (see Figure 16)

A notable proportion of employed veterans—a full third—say their military background is the No. 1 factor that helped them find their job. At the same time, however, unemployed veterans prioritize other factors equally with their military background, such as past work experience. (see Figure 17)

Regardless of whether they prioritize their military backgrounds to the same degree, both employed and unemployed vets agree they have a particular skillset that makes them inherently more employable. Both employed and unemployed vets believe that communication, decision making and teamwork are skills that give them added value as potential employees. (see Figure 18)

Quick Facts: In 2006, 17 percent of all federal new hires were non-disabled veterans. By 2011, that number grew to 19 percent. As of 2011, the top employer of veterans in the executive branch of the federal government was the Department of Defense, with 47 percent of its employees being veterans.7

Figure 16: Key skills in landing a job

Figure 17: Most important factors in landing a job

Figure 18: “Very important” factors to show employers

Accenture | 11 10 | Veteran Employment Survey

7U.S. Office of Personnel Management, The Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government reports, 2006 to 2011; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/QuickFacts/Homepage_opm_vets_quickfacts.pdf

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Translating Military Skills into Civilian Jobs Remains Challenging

Figure 19: Key job search challenges

Figure 20: Biggest barriers to employment

Quick Facts: A large majority of veterans (43 percent) work in an administrative field. Another 17 percent work in a technical field, 16 percent are blue collar, 13 percent are in a professional field, and 6 percent are in a clerical or other white-collar position.8

Accenture | 13 12 | Veteran Employment Survey

8Ibid

While veterans are aware that their military background is valuable, many are unsure how to translate it to civilian jobs. At the same time, many vets also struggle with where to find available jobs. (see Figure 19)

The biggest challenge for unemployed veterans in finding a job is difficulty translating their military skills into civilian skills. A comparable proportion of employed veterans cited this as a challenge for their own job search as well. (see Figure 20)

With this in mind, unemployed veterans may need more coaching to convert résumés to interviews—and interviews into jobs. (see Figure 21)

One in four unemployed veterans also see a lack of opportunities in their desired field. (see Figure 22)

Unemployed veterans may be overlooking fields where the biggest opportunities are. Specifically, based on the Accenture survey, vets may be too focused on finding jobs in IT and law enforcement and not focused enough on jobs in manufacturing.(see Figure 23)

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Quick Fact: Many married unemployed veterans (26 percent participating in the Accenture survey) have spouses who are also unemployed, which highlights the urgency and importance of finding a job among this group. (see Figure 24)

Figure 22: Biggest barriers to employment

Figure 23: Industries with opportunities

Figure 24: Spouse’s employment status

Figure 21: Number of applications and interviews

Accenture | 15 14 | Veteran Employment Survey

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What Can Unemployed Vets Learn from Employed Vets?There are a few important lessons unemployed vets can take away from their employed counterparts. Key among them are that continuing education, classes or training programs make vets more attractive to employers, combined with a military background. The data show that employed veterans are 15 percentage points more likely to have taken additional classes since leaving the military than unemployed vets. (see Figure 25 & 26)

Other lessons unemployed vets can learn from employed vets:

Networking is an important and effective tool in job hunting. In fact, it is the most fruitful of all job search resources according to employed veterans, so unemployed veterans should prioritize it above other resources. Using personal networks ranks first among 12 potential job searching resources for employed veterans, compared to seventh of 12 among the same set for unemployed veterans. (see Figure 27)

Sticking with your military field in the civilian workforce will yield better pay. About half of unemployed vets

are looking for work in new areas, but data show that staying in their military field would likely yield a higher salary. (see Figure 28)

Also important, employed veterans say that effectively translating military skills is critical, given the crucial role they play in employability. (see Figure 29)

The data clearly show that veterans can offer employers superior skills. However, with 260,000 service members a year expected to separate from the military over the next four years, the challenge will be helping them translate their military experience to private-sector jobs.

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Employed veterans Unemployed veterans

Figure 25: Percentage of vets who have taken classes or training programs after the military

Figure 26: Types of degrees vets have obtained after the military

Accenture | 17 16 | Veteran Employment Survey

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Figure 28: Type of work vets are seeking

Figure 29: Critical factors for landing a job

Quick Finding: Veterans Preference may be a bigger asset in landing a job than many veterans credit it for. While 48 percent of employed veterans working in government say Veterans Preference was helpful in getting them the job, in reality, 89 percent of veterans were employed thanks to Veterans Preference.9 (see Figure 30)

Figure 27: Job resources vets use

Accenture | 19 18 | Veteran Employment Survey

9http://www.fedshirevets.gov/hire/hrp/reports/EmploymentOfVets-FY11.pdf

Figure 30: Perceived impact of Veterans Preference on employment

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Accenture Federal Services, based in Arlington, VA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, helps US federal agencies build the government of the future. Visit http://www.accenture.com/federal for information regarding Accenture Federal Services, including our perspectives on agency and cabinet challenges and experience delivering results.

About the SurveyAccenture conducted a quantitative survey of 1,000 U.S. veterans who separated from the military within the past 15 years, ages 18 and older. The survey interviewed 600 currently employed and 400 currently unemployed veterans to assess their opinions and attitudes toward their transition from the military to the civilian workforce. The survey included veterans from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and the National Guard, and included a mix of officers and enlisted personnel. The survey was fielded by phone and online by Penn Schoen Berland in Oct. 2013. About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 281,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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