Military Veterans are highly trained, often in specialized skills that are in great demand in the public and private sectors. However, Veterans' training is often unacknowledged when they pursue licenses, degrees, and certifications in the civilian workforce. Through the Governor's "Experience Counts" campaign, state agencies would identify ways that New York can better recognize the skills and training those Veterans possess.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through its Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE), established specific programs to help Veterans start a business and become qualified as a Veteran-Owned, or a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business, which will enable qualified business owners to be eligible for federal set-asides.
The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act, signed into law on May 12, 2014, allows eligible Veteran business owners to get certified as a New York State Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB). The goal of the Act is to encourage and support eligible SDVOBs to play a greater role in the state's economy by increasing their participation in New York State's contracting opportunities.
New York State Veterans with other than dishonorable discharges from the United States Armed Forces are eligible to apply for a free lifetime Veterans Vendor’s License provided the Veteran served overseas in peace or war.
NYS Department of Veterans' Services (DVS) is seeking volunteers (age 18 and older) who are committed to DVS's mission of advocating on behalf of New York's Veterans, Servicemembers, and their families.
Volunteers would provide support to DVS’s essential work of helping Veterans, Servicemembers and their families learn about and apply for the benefits they earned in service.