Over six out of ten veterans report their post-unemployed veterandischarge transition to civilian life as “difficult,” according to the Veterans Employment Challenge Survey. This study, conducted by Prudential Financial, surveyed some 1,845 veterans of all services.

According to the survey, 69 percent of veterans report finding new employment as their biggest challenge in coming back to the civilian world. Nearly all veterans cite at least one challenge to finding employment. 98 percent of them reported at least one factor making transition difficult. 68 percent of veterans report three or more challenges to their employment prospects. Many of these veterans have been thoroughly tested on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. But they are now caught between a force drawdown quickly gaining momentum on one hand and a stubbornly tight labor market on the other. Indeed, the survey finds that one in five Post 9/11 veterans are unemployed and actively seeking employment. That’s 20 percent – a rate more than twice that of the general population. At this writing, the official national unemployment rate is 8.3 percent.

Mismatch
While 71 percent of transitioning veterans reported that they feel that employers respect their military service, only about half – 56 percent, believe that employers appreciate the value of the training and skills they picked up in the military. 58 percent of transitioning veterans struggle with the applicability of their military skills to the civilian workforce. (As a former infantryman and tanker, I feel their pain!)

And half of them, 48 percent, report that non-veterans do not understand military culture.

Long term observers of the military from a sociological perspective have long reported a widening cultural gap between the civilian sector and the military. With the transition in the 1970s from a conscript force to a much smaller, all-professional military, it is increasingly rare to find hiring managers and supervisors who have military experience themselves. While a couple of generations ago, Viet Nam era veterans and draftees were common in the work place – and they themselves cut their teeth in the work force under the supervision of millions World War Two veterans, today’s crop of veterans are working for supervisors who have no frame of reference for understanding today’s military and the challenges they face, as well as the value they bring to the work force.

Distressingly, one in four veterans – 24 percent – believes that employers may actively avoid hiring veterans, because of a perception of emotional difficulties or veterans bringing in “too much baggage.”

Half of respondents worry that non-veteran managers do not understand military culture (48%), and about a third feel non-veteran co-workers are intimidated by veterans (32%) or that they won’t be able to relate (37%).

Meanwhile, many veterans aren’t exactly jumping in with both feet. Nearly half report they didn’t feel fully ready to transition. Some are taking time off to use their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits for school. Others simply need to depressurize after a stressful combat tour and consider their options.

Of those attempting to enter the civilian workforce, a substantial portion of veterans, 46 percent, report difficulty in competing with those who have a perceived job-hunting advantage, by virtue of not having taken time out of the work force to serve.

About half of those reporting they weren’t ready to transition believe they need more job-specific or technical training to compete.

Among veterans who reported they were not ready to transition, 40 percent of them cited mental health issues related to military service. 22 percent reported a physical injury related to military service as a contributing factor.

Note: Vitaver is a proud partner of the Wounded Warrior Project, and is committed to providing employment opportunities for veterans of all ages. Honorably discharged veterans are encouraged to apply for all positions.