VETS | Financial Coaching

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez and Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray
promote a two-year pilot program in coaching veterans.
Arlington Employment Center, Va., May 20, 2015.

Better financial education of consumers is one way to prevent scams and help elderly people achieve financial security by holding on to the money they earn.

It should be a national priority as 10,000 more baby boomers turn 65 years old every day.

Veterans in transition are often targets of scammers. Even the wrong choice of credit card could be very costly.

In military service they may not have kept up their financial management skills, and the stress of transition to civilian life may open them up to scams.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor have initiated a two-year pilot program to help veterans and economically vulnerable consumers to manage their money.

About 60 certified financial coaches will be put in the field at locally based centers,  including 35 American Job Centers.

"These professionals will provide one-on-one free coaching to help them craft a personalized plan for financial success," said Perez. More

VETS 8 | Ronald Allix, Homeless No More

Ronald Allix, 46, Was
Homeless in Detroit

Army Veteran Ronald Allix was laid off from his auto factory job during  the 2008 financial crisis.

His personal problems became crushing. He became:

• divorced, 
• homeless 
• desperate

Last month, Allix and 13 other Veterans aged between 25 and 60 graduated from the Blight Removal and Heavy Equipment Training Program at the Detroit Training Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. It sounds a lot like the successful training program at the NJISJ in Newark.

All of the trainees were placed in Detroit area jobs. Allix has earned Michigan State licenses in asbestos and lead abatement and a certificate in heavy equipment operation. He has been hired as a construction laborer paying $12.75 an hour. He is preparing to move out of the shelter.

Allix applied for the program after seeing a flyer at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, which received a grant of $300,000 through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program in 2013. He sums up the outcome of his training succinctly as follows:

This was a life-changing experience for me. Without the program I would likely still be stuck because I didn't have a clear path in mind to get into anything else.

Patrick Beal, CEO of the Detroit Training Center, says: "Veterans are great candidates for job placement [because] they are disciplined and eager to learn new skills." Click Here for More Information

January 10 - Hiring Fair for Veterans in DC

Veterans attending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes job fair in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10 received words of encouragement and career pointers from Keith Kelly, the assistant secretary of labor who heads the Veterans' Employment and Training Service. 

In one encounter, Army Reservist Joshua Hammond shared his resume with Kelly and said he was looking for employment in the accounting field. Kelly suggested Hammond visit his local American Job Center for career counseling help and job placement. 

According to the U.S. Chamber, more than 700 veterans signed up for the event, along with 105 potential employers, such as Hilton hotels, Capital One, Starbucks, the U.S. Secret Service and Verizon.

• Visit the American Job Center
• View the Slideshow

- From the U.S. Department of Labor's January newsletter.