FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2011 VA Announces for Vets” Contest “Badges Goal: Help Vets Get Jobs WASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced the Badges – for Vets contest for creating digital systems to help Veterans translate their military “badge” skills into civilian jobs. are looking for ways to make it easy for employers to see Veterans for who they “We are: highly qualified individuals in any job applicant pool,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. want to help good jobs find Veterans and help Veterans find good “We jobs.” A badge” recognizes skills obtained through non-traditional learning, such as “digital work-related training, online courses, and experience. Learners display their badges across the Web, resulting in jobs or formal credit. recently discharged Veterans earned employable skills during their time in “Many uniform,” said Jonah Czerwinski, director of the VA Innovations Initiative that sponsors the new contest. represent high-quality training and real-life experience. We’re looking for “They new ways for employers to easily identify Veterans who have this training and this experience to fill good jobs in the private sector.” VA is joined by the Departments of Education, Energy, and Labor to sponsor the for Vets” contest as part of the Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition “Badges administered by a consortium supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation. VA Innovations Initiative (VAi2) will award up to three $25,000 prizes in five categories to teams that demonstrate they can develop and deliver digital badges representing skills learned in the military that are desired by civilian employers. -More-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2011 VA Announces “Badges for Vets” Contest Goal: Help Vets Get Jobs WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced the Badges for Vets contest for creating digital “badge” systems to help Veterans translate their military skills into civilian jobs. “We are looking for ways to make it easy for employers to see Veterans for who they are: highly qualified individuals in any job applicant pool,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We want to help good jobs find Veterans and help Veterans find good jobs.” A “digital badge” recognizes skills obtained through non-traditional learning, such as work-related training, online courses, and experience. Learners display their badges across the Web, resulting in jobs or formal credit. “Many recently discharged Veterans earned employable skills during their time in uniform,” said Jonah Czerwinski, director of the VA Innovations Initiative that sponsors the new contest. “They represent high-quality training and real-life experience. We’re looking for new ways for employers to easily identify Veterans who have this training and this experience to fill good jobs in the private sector.” VA is joined by the Departments of Education, Energy, and Labor to sponsor the “Badges for Vets” contest as part of the Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition administered by a consortium supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation. VA Innovations Initiative (VAi2) will award up to three $25,000 prizes in five categories to teams that demonstrate they can develop and deliver digital badges representing skills learned in the military that are desired by civilian employers. -More-