Help our veterans to obtain sustainable employment Brd White - - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Help our veterans to obtain sustainable employment

Bríd White - Vocational Rehabilitation Advisor

Introduction

• 1. Background on Veterans’ Affairs
• 2. Supporting Veterans to obtain

sustainable employment

Our Mission

“Ensuring veterans get the support, recognition, entitlements and services available to them so they lead a healthy and productive life.”

Our role

We are part of New Zealand Defence Force supporting veterans. We have our own Minister for Veterans,

• ur own Veterans’ Support

legislation, and designated budget.

Scope of service

1954: War Pensions Act 1999: Veterans’ Affairs born 2014: Veterans’ Support Act 2018: Review

Qualifying

1 April 1974

Scheme One Scheme Two

Qualifying

• perational service

Qualifying routine service Qualifying

• perational service

Our work at a glance

30,000+

Qualifying current and ex-service personnel

3,600

38,000

$289m

Annual spend

183

Services Cemeteries

68

VA Staff

3,300

Veterans actively case managed Veterans receiving VIP home services Calls to the Enquiry Line each year

Who is a veteran?

While In Service

Why hire veterans

There are many reasons why companies or

• rganisations are seeking to hire Veterans:

They bring with them the skills to do the job in a timely and efficient manner They have both hard and soft skills coveted by employers, such as leadership, management, teamwork, accountability, and responsibility

Strengths of Veteran Employees

Teamwork Motivation Leadership Fit and healthy Planning and decisiveness Time management Transferable skills

What we provide

Health and wellbeing Financial and independence support Employment support Family and whānau Remembrance

Focusing on rehabilitation

The Act allows us to focus on rehabilitation support: rehabilitation will assist veterans, as much as possible, to return to their pre-illness or injury state and, where appropriate, help veterans get back to work. Two types of rehabilitation are provided:

• Social rehabilitation-Help restore a veteran’s independence to the

maximum extent practicable.

• Vocational rehabilitation-Help a veteran continue working; regain

work or acquire an ability to work.

• If a veteran is unable to work due to service related illness/injury,

weekly compensation may be paid while receiving treatment and/or rehabilitation

Case Management

• We take a case management approach
• Case manager assigned to each veteran
• Tailored package of support specific to each veteran
• Case managers are available on 0800 number or at

veterans@nzdf.mil.nz

• We work with
• RSA, NoDuff, veterans’ organisations
• NZDF – particularly Defence Health
• ACC where an injury or illness is the result of an accident
• NZ public health system, NZ private health system
• Other government agencies supporting veterans
• Other NGOs supporting veterans

And, most importantly, we work with individual Veterans

Partner with us

Some Veteran-Friendly practices to consider:

• Have a strong Veteran recruitment and hiring

program

• Support affinity groups for veterans
• Provide orientation/ work trials to new veteran

employees on the organisations culture, services etc

• Develop and support a veteran mentoring

program

More Veteran-friendly practices to consider:

• Provide Veteran-friendly EAP services
• Recognise employees for their service
• Provide training to supervisors on Veterans’

issues and available resources

• Give preference to Veteran-owned businesses

when seeking product or service vendor support

• Support ex-service focused philanthropic effort

Veteran Recruitment and Hiring

Recruitment and practices to consider:

• Have dedicated recruiters
• Advertise job openings on military job boards and socials

websites

• Attend military job fairs – both traditional and virtual
• Have a dedicated military section on the organisations

website

• Encourage Veteran employees to refer fellow Veterans

for job openings

• Develop a PR campaign to market your organisation as

military-friendly

Train supervisors & managers

• Create a workplace culture that encourages

employees to seek assistance for professional or personal issues with no fear of retribution

• Train supervisors and managers on military

culture and Veterans’ issues, including issues regarding PTSD

Contact us

Freephone 0800 483 8372 veterans@nzdf.mil.nz Or visit: www.veteransaffairs.mil.nz

Ask - Have you served? Any questions?