Gov. Jack Markell joined members of the General Assembly and veterans at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base to sign legislation that allows veterans to more fairly compete for jobs.
Markell joined members of the General Assembly and veterans at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base to sign legislation that allows veterans to more fairly compete for jobs.
Markell joined members of the General Assembly and veterans at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base to sign the bill.
House Bill 296, sponsored by Rep. Earl Jaques (D-Glasgow) and Sens. Brian Bushweller (D-Dover) and Bruce Ennis (D-Smyrna), allows professional licensing boards to recognize military education, training, and experience when reviewing credentials and issuing licenses. This change will assist service personnel in obtaining and/or renewing professional licenses when transitioning from active duty.
Markell noted that medical personnel returning from treating members of the armed forces overseas were told they must complete an entire educational program because they didn’t have the right training or experience to obtain a nursing license in Delaware. Similar circumstances affected veterans in a variety of professions.
“As a state and as a nation, we have no more sacred responsibility than to ensure that the men and women who sign up to serve us have fair opportunities to succeed when their tours of duty are over,” said Markell. “And it’s not complicated to realize that they will only get those opportunities if they can compete for jobs on a level playing field with everyone else. “
HB 296 further allows boards to issue temporary licenses to service personnel when they hold a valid license from another state. The current Delaware law only allows Boards to do so for military spouses.
According to the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the Delaware unemployment rate for the most recent returning veterans – those categorized as Gulf War II Veterans – plummeted from 12.9 percent to 6.4 percent from the end of 2011 to the end of 2013.
