Retraining veterans for good jobs

The fall semester got under way last week at Indian River State College.  Something new at IRSC is especially interesting.  It’s the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program.  The program provides financial assistance to unemployed veterans between 35 and 60 to attend school full-time to be retrained in high-demand occupations in such fields as computers, engineering, teaching, health care and construction.  The U.S. Labor Department will help them find good jobs at which they can utilize their newly-learned skills.  More than 60 veterans attended a Retraining Assistance program information session at the college, and about 35 had already signed up.  Sometimes it’s tough to make the transition from military life to civilian life.  Veterans who qualify for the Retraining Assistance program can enroll in the college’s new Veterans Business Institute, in which they take classes with other veterans in a learning environment tailored just for them.  An IRSC veterans advisor, Ruby Jefferson, told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers that this will “give them a sense of comfort, knowing that other veterans are there and have their back.”  For 88.9 FM, this is Paul Janensch.