Kevin Kirwan has years of experience controlling complicated Navy logistics, but he is struggling to find a job. (Credit: Miles Dixon)
The City Council will meet today to discuss ways to help veterans get hired.
Council members hope to streamline the process for vets who return to New York only to find they were qualified to fix electrical problems in Iraq, but not Queens.
For example, an electrician in the Army would have to get re-certified to use those same skills in the civilian world.
“If you’ve had the experience of working as an electrician in a war zone, you’re more than qualified to be an electrician in New York City,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.
Just last week, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America reported that new veterans’ unemployment rate is stubbornly higher than the national rate. Post-9/11 veterans’ unemployment was 9.4 percent in February — 1.7 percent higher than the rest of the country, the group said.
Metro has previously written about veterans struggling to get jobs in New York — often, they can have trouble translating skills on the battlefield to the civilian world.
