Google's New Tools & Resources for Veterans

An estimated 250K service members transition out of the military every year. They have important and valuable skills; but it can be challenging for them to translate those skills into civilian language when looking for jobs. There are also over 690K military spouses who struggle with job security due to frequent moves. That’s why, this week, Google announced new tools and resources for service members, veterans, and military spouses to help them learn new skills, find civilian jobs and help their business succeed.

First, they are making searching for jobs on Google easier for veterans and military service members. Vets can now enter their Military Occupation Specialty Code (MOS, AFSC, NEC) and "jobs for veterans" directly into Google Search to see relevant civilian jobs available near them. They’ll also make this capability available to any employer or job board to use on their own property through our API, Cloud Talent Solution.

Google also wants to make sure that the almost 9% of all U.S. businesses that are veteran led, are able to leverage the power of the web. They are offering a designation on Google Maps (that is so cool!) and Search mobile listings for veterans to identify their businesses as veteran owned or led, making it easier for all of us to proactively support these businesses.

Finally, through Google.org, they are granting $2.5M to the United Service Organizations (USO). The USO is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits assisting military service members and their families. This grant will provide scholarships for 1,000 transitioning service members and military spouses to complete the Google IT Support Professional Certificate which provides a pathway to careers in the growing field of IT support. They will also receive additional instructional and wraparound support while they complete the program.

These efforts are part of our Grow with Google initiative to help create economic opportunities for more Americans. Google said "We are grateful to service members and their families for their sacrifices, and we hope that these tools will assist them as they transition to civilian lives."

Please share this with someone who could benefit. Here's a great article about a Program Manager at Google, who served in the Air Force as a civil engineer, and now he's on the team that worked to create these new tools and resources for vets and their families. Thank you Google!