WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Veterans' Employment and Training Servicehas expanded the Transition Assistance Program, extending the opportunity for veterans, transitioning service members and their spouses to use resources to find suitable employment.

The expansion includes the addition of seven new partners and the renewal of eight others in the Employment Navigator and Partnership Programthat offers transitioning service members and their spouses one-on-one career services at 37 military installations worldwide. The program also connects participants and partner organizations that provide additional employment services before and after they separate from the military.

As program partners, organizations offer apprenticeship opportunities, digital skills matching, employment networking, mentoring, hiring events and referrals to employment placement and training services

The seven organizations that signed new, three-year memorandums of understanding with VETS and became the newest additions to the Employment Navigator and Partnership Program are 50Strong in Buckeye, Arizona;

JVS SoCal in Los Angeles and SEMI Foundation in Milpitas, California; Candorful Inc. in Malden and BufferSprings LLC in Raynham, Massachusetts; Meritorious LLC and Meritorious Foundation in Astoria, New York; and Veterans Solutions 4 Life LLC in Lawton, Oklahoma.

The organizations renewing their ENPP partnerships are Zero8Hundred Inc. in San Diego; VetJobs in Fort Myers, Florida; Hire Heroes USA Inc. in Alpharetta, Georgia; American Corporate Partners in New York; Ability ASCEND in Simpsonville, South Carolina; Combined Arms in Houston, Texas; Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment and Veterans Employment in Washington, D.C.; and RVET Operating LLC in Chesapeake, Virginia.

With the addition of seven new organizations, there are now 73 partners in the ENPP program that, since its 2021 launch, has served more than 19,000 transitioning service members and their spouses. Recent data shows enlisted participants were employed faster and earned more in quarterly wages than enlisted transitioning service members outside the program. To become an ENPP partner or to host the program at an installation, contact VETS at [email protected] or visit dol.gov/employmentnavigator.

VETS also announced other changes to expand employment training to service members and their spouses, including the expansion of its Off-Base Transition Training to veterans, National Guard members and reservists and their spouses in Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Washington and the District of Columbia as they prepare for civilian employment. In addition, the agency will revise its Employment Fundamentals of Career Transition curriculum in January 2025 to include the use of artificial intelligence in the job search process. Learn more about EFCT, all TAP curriculum, and to access a VETS Resource Guide.