Veteran underemployment trends and finding the ‘right fit’ - Fox Carolina

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GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The national veteran unemployment rate has fallen more than 2% over the last year. But according to the Housing Assistance Council the unemployment rate for veterans in South Carolina is significantly higher. Especially for veterans under 35.

Some studies suggest nearly one-in-three veterans are underemployed and area resources like Veteran One say the number is likely underreported.

You can call Ross Alewine the model Soldier.

“I believe in the American dream in this country and I wanted to go fight for it,” Alewine said. “I joined the U.S. Army because I wanted to serve my country.”

And in 2007, that’s exactly what he did. But as an infantryman, he knew in 11-months he needed to have the competence and commitment for deployment.

“I wasn’t ready at first, but I got ready real fast,” Alewine said.

He deployed to Iraq in 2008-09 and to Afghanistan in 2011-12, working dismounted and mounted operations riddled with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and landmines.

“You see war on TV and you see what the war shows you – but there’s guys on the ground who are fighting and it’s very important,” Alewine said. “We win wars by taking out the enemy and that’s what our job is.”

But there’s both physical and mental costs.

“It caused me some issues on the back end when I returned home,” he said.

Alewine was medically retired and in 2018. He found solace in a Warrior Transition Battalion for wounded and injured veterans.

“I won the 2018 DoD Warrior Games Ultimate Champion award – I was the first one in the Army to ever do it,” he said.

Alewine says his social network grew, but his professional life had nose-dived.

“I put on a pretty good show,” he said.

Alewine was struggling to find the right job, beyond just making his military skills transferrable.

“That was the biggest thing – my resume was not put together correctly,” he said.

It’s a tale more transitional services and resources have become familiar with.

“The number of unemployed veterans is relatively low – but underemployed, there’s really not many statistics out for that,” said Berno Lans, Veteran One software developer.

Veteran One is a tech company founded by two veterans that use algorithms to help veterans like Alewine create a resume, and find jobs based on their personality, experiences and education.

“The hardest part of these algorithms is just understanding the problem that we’re trying to solve with them, and just creating them afterwards,” Lans said.

“I’ve always heard if you want to be physically fit you got to get a personal trainer,” Alewine added. “Yeah, you might be hurt, you might be injured, you might be wounded – but you can still get up, fight every day and compete.”

Training veterans nationwide and working with a growing network of employers.

“Employers from 50 to 100 plus industries in our system looking for veterans,” Lans said.

Finding the right fit not only helps veterans but also employers. Some research reveals the veteran retention rate is as low as 20% to 35% in the first two years after service.

“They’re the reason I have the job I have now, working in something I love to do,” Alewine said. “I don’t work a day in my life because I went from competing to now I’m training and helping mentor these guys that are coming up like I was.”

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