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The Landscape for Veteran Employment Is Evolving, but Data on These Trends Are Limited

• While initiatives to hire veterans may have initially been motivated by a sense of patriotism or a desire to participate in a charitable endeavor, many companies have come to view veterans as a valuable talent pool and an asset to business.
• Veterans do not necessarily prefer civilian careers that are similar to their military specialties. It is unclear to what extent existing veteran employment programs support veterans who wish to pursue training and jobs in unrelated fields.
• Data on veteran employment rates, retention, career satisfaction, and other factors are limited and sometimes conflicting. Employers do not apply veteran status consistently and do not always link employees' performance with veteran status, which could demonstrate the business case for hiring veterans.

More Research Would Inform Innovative Approaches to Veteran Employment

• The ultimate aim of veteran employment programs is to help veterans have successful civilian careers. However, existing data have not provided a baseline for assessing veterans' career trajectories or shown how program participation may affect key outcomes.
• While stakeholders contend that hiring veterans is good for business, evidence supporting this claim is lacking. Research comparing veteran and nonveteran employees' performance and retention would quantify and demonstrate how veterans add value as employees.
• With limited data on program effectiveness, it is difficult for stakeholders to determine which efforts are working, how veterans use available resources, and which programs could be replicated to fill needs in high-demand career fields.