$800,000 in grant funding is available for local organizations committed to providing family-sustaining jobs to Pennsylvania veterans.
Pennsylvania State| $800,000 in grant funding is available for local organizations committed to connecting Pennsylvania veterans with family-sustaining jobs. The grants, through the Veterans Employment Program (VEP), are meant to eliminate barriers to employment that veterans face across the commonwealth.
“VEP grants are critical to assisting veterans with their credentials and placing them on the right path to good paying jobs that offer career growth,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Veterans bring strong skills like leadership, organization, and discipline to the job market. Sometimes all they need is a pathway to the right employers. Thanks to the VEP, veterans will have a supportive field of advocates helping to enrich their career skills and connect them to the right employers.”
Applications and additional details can be found on L&I’s website. Veterans make up roughly 7.5 percent of the commonwealth’s population. For applications to be considered, they should identify a problem, or an opportunity related to veterans’ employment and must be capable of bringing together businesses, education, workforce, community, and other partners to achieve employment support for veterans. Eligible applicants include local workforce development boards, non-profit and non-governmental entities, community-based organizations, education and post-secondary organizations, labor organizations, business associations, and economic development entities.
The deadline for application submission is 4 PM on November 21, 2022. L&I anticipates VEP funding to be used for grant-related activities from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The $800,000 of available funding will be awarded in increments of $200,000 to be used for new and innovative projects to identify veteran employment opportunities, close funding gaps, or supplement existing initiatives for more comprehensive services for Pennsylvania’s nearly 800,000 veterans population.
