Any service member who is thinking about leaving the military and doesn't know where to start, this message is for you: Believe it or not, the government actually is here to help.
The Department of Labor has been collecting information on transitioning service members from a handful of sources in the U.S. government to show that one of its key transition programs, the Employment Navigator and Partnership Program (ENPP), is not only working; it's making life better for those who use it.
Using transition information from the Department of Defense, its own data and input from the Department of Health and Human Services on new hires and wages, the Labor Department was able to track the effectiveness of the ENPP and its outcomes between 2023 and 2024. What it found was encouraging news for anyone thinking of leaving the military and is unsure of where to start looking for work.
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Enlisted personnel who left the military during that time period and used the Employment Navigator found work two months faster than those who didn't, finding employment within a median of 90 days as opposed to 153 days. Moreover, the median quarterly wage for an ENPP client was 11% higher than their non-ENPP counterparts.
These positive outcomes make sense as a simple, cost-free solution to a post-military job search. The DoL program offers testing, skills matching, apprenticeship opportunities, mentorships, networking, training, community services and even job placement assistance for veterans and their spouses. The alternative is finding all of these services in other places or doing it all on their own.
The ENPP network is also expanding. Eight veteran employment-oriented agencies signed on to three-year agreements with the Labor Department in 2024 to provide the above services in various parts of the country: Zero8Hundred in San Diego; VetJobs in Fort Myers, Florida; Hire Heroes USA in Alpharetta, Georgia; American Corporate Partners in New York; Ability ASCEND in Simpsonville, South Carolina; Combined Arms in Houston; Helmets to Hardhats in Washington, D.C.; and Recruit Military in Chesapeake, Virginia.
The addition of these eight make a total of 74 veteran service organizations that have partnered with the Department of Labor in helping transitioning service members find work after leaving the military. Eight other groups renewed their partnerships in the program last year.
Still, despite its now-proven efficacy, the ENPP is dramatically underutilized by those who leave the military. An estimated 200,000 people leave the armed forces every year, and only 25% say they have a job lined up before leaving. Since the ENPP was created in 2021, it has helped just 19,000 troops and spouses enter civilian life -- and has the capacity to do more.
To apply for the Employment Navigator and Partnership Program, you must be a transitioning service member or spouse, be within two years of retirement or 365 days of separation and participate in a transition assistance program at one of the 40 locations listed on the ENPP website.
The ENPP is separate from other transitional programs offered by the Department of Labor, which includes transition e-learning, help for spouses and off-base transition training programs. For more information on those programs, visit the Veterans' Employment and Training Service website.
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