Georgia is receiving a 750 thousand dollar grant over the next two years to help returning veterans find jobs.

Georgia could have as many as 80-thousand vets looking for work in the next few years.

The money from the federal Labor Department will go to improve programs Georgia already has in place to help veterans looking for work.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler says the end of the mission in Afghanistan and the cuts to the military budget will bring a big influx of veterans to Georgia.

“Fort Benning now is one of the largest military bases in America and so it has a very high population. And as you see the mission change and start seeing some draw downs, a lot of these individuals are going to be coming back to Fort Benning, Fort Stewart and others. And as they start to come out and go back into their civilian lives, they’re going to be looking for work.” he says.

Butler says they will target veterans who are at risk of becoming unemployed.
“It’s a multitude of factors. It could be a level of education, which is generally the biggest reason. It could be the fact that the particular skill set that they may have been using in the military may not be a skill set that’s necessarily needed in whatever area of the state that they may decide to live in.” he says.

The money will also be used to provide tax credits for employers who hire veterans. Employers can get up to 24 hundred dollars for hiring a veteran, and up to 48 hundred dollars for hiring a veteran with a disability.

Georgia is one of four states targeted for the grants because of its large population of veterans.

Tags: training, veterans, state Department of Labor, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, $750 thousand grant