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Veterans' Employment Challenge | Challenge.gov

service with unique and technical
skillsets that bring value to all
sectors of the economy, but can

encounter challenges framing
their experience and skills for
civilian employers. American

businesses report that they are
also missing an opportunity to
attract and retain a capable,

competent workforce, and recognize the value in veterans and spouses.

Many job boards, veteran hiring programs, and other initiatives exis, but there are disparate
platforms of valuable data. Traversing across these resources can be overwhelming for both frs-
time job-seeking veterans and businesses with limited time to fll urgent needs. Additionally, mos job

search tools for Service members are based purely on military occupational specialties, which do not
accurately represent the breadth of experiences many individuals have. Finally, small businesses in
particular do not have the saf capacity to build out robus skills profles that better describe hiring

needs.

There is a need for both a more sophisicated matching mechanism and a simpler interface that can
pull from exising data sources (from Federal platforms like O*NET, the Credentialing Opportunities
On-Line (COOL) program, and the National Labor Exchange, to LinkedIn profles, resumes, or job

descriptions that individuals and businesses have created).

The Government wants to be mindful of not prescribing what the platform should look like or how it
will work, but wanted to note some of what job-seekers and Federal employees have shared
throughout the research process of designing this competition. In particular, the agencies heard a

need for:

A matching-oriented application for the job-searching process. A platform that could determine
likeness of ft, reveal matches, and allow both the employers and job-seekers to opt-in and
share more information with each other and potentially interact more (connecting with Veterans

at the company, chatting, etc.).
A platform that has functions like a “ZocDoc” for job searching. Employers can self-input
information (like doctors input their location, ofce hours, and information about their practice),

external reviews from users are included, and users can actually take an action (book an
appointment) in one place.
A one-sop-shop verifcation sysem of employers. Employers on the platform could be matched

automatically with databases that note if they are Federal contractors, have earned a HIRE

https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/vets-match/[12/17/2019 10:09:25 AM]