On Tuesday, November 21st, President Donald J. Trump signed the Veterans Apprenticeship and Labor Opportunity Reform (VALOR) Act into law. This newly minted law will make it easier for employers to create apprenticeship programs in multiple states, providing more opportunities for veterans to gain these employment opportunities.

Both the Trump and Obama administrations put a renewed focus on creating and improving the apprenticeship employment model during their tenure, recently culminating in President Trump’s Executive Order Expanding Apprenticeships in America, which you can read by clicking here. The VALOR act is an important bipartisan bill to ensure this longheld mission succeeds.

When the VALOR Act was initially introduced to the House of Representatives by Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) in October of this year, the bill’s leaders provided emphasized its importance to the national employment landscape:

“Apprenticeship programs allow veterans to gain skills needed for 21st century jobs. Something as simple as paperwork should not stop employers from hiring veterans,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of House Armed Services Committee. “The VALOR Act would remove administrative hurdles and offer more apprenticeship to veterans.”

“Given the tremendous sacrifice our veterans have made for our country, we should do everything we can to ensure they have access to good jobs,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington. “The VALOR Act eliminates needless burden and bureaucracy in the transition of our veterans from deployment to employment.”

“Making apprenticeships more accessible is always a win-win for our veterans and our businesses,” said Rep. Beto O’Rourke. “Doing so through the VALOR Act is a golden opportunity to support those transitioning from active duty to civilian life in El Paso, throughout Texas, and across the country as they look to build on their skillset for our 21st century workforce.”

Read the original press release here.

Now that the VALOR Act has been signed into law, employers have a streamlined method to provide veterans with the apprenticeship employment opportunities in multiple locations across state lines. Now employers are not limited by the bureaucracy and paperwork to open up their doors to candidates seeking paid training as they become experts in their civilian profession.

In addition, the Act eliminates the requirement that veterans and their civilian counterparts must certify their attendance to receive transition assistance. With more apprenticeship opportunities and more financial assistance, including the Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA), veterans are poised for incredible training and employment in 2018.