COVID-19’s impact on GI Bill conversations: Futureproofing careers in advanced technology

Over the decades, the GI Bill has provided Veterans and their family members with educational benefits to bolster their careers. And as our world trends increasingly digital, the type of education Veterans need is shifting. These changes are particularly important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the job market.

To better understand the impact of technology and COVID-19 on Veteran education and workforce trends, Accenture worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a social listening study and analyze Veteran sentiment around the GI Bill. Using leading social listening technology, we analyzed 100K+ posts from 70K+ accounts on public facing digital and social media platforms with open text API, focusing on the military connected community.

Data aggregated reflects current social sentiment from June-September 2020 compared to data from the same period last year to establish an adequate benchmark.

What we found

We found that many Veterans are considering launching a career in or reskilling in the technology field. More than half (62%) of conversations trended towards future proofing careers and using the GI Bill to gain a competitive advantage in the job market.

We also found there was a 4% increase in education and job training mentions due to COVID-19, with conversations focusing around using the GI Bill as a vehicle to gain socio-economic status by opening the door to job opportunities with little to no student loans.

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Full Report: GI Bill Sentiment Analysis

As COVID-19 changes the way the world lives, works, and learns, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sought to understand the most pressing issues for GI Bill stakeholders. Read a summary of the findings.

READ THE REPORT

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Summary: GI Bill Sentiment Analysis

Read a summary of the main findings from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ analysis of social media sentiment on the most important issues for GI Bill stakeholders.

VIEW THE INFOGRAPHIC

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This research offers a pathway to help futureproof careers in the wake of COVID-19 and existing technology trends. By providing statistical significance to anecdotes, this study:

• Identifies the needs and priorities of GI Bill students in a way that can inform policies and communications going forward.
• Demonstrates the importance of programs like Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC), at a time when many Veterans are looking to reskill into advanced technology fields.

Accenture’s hand in futureproofing careers

Accenture is committed to helping Veterans futureproof careers and enter the technology field. In fall 2020, we signed on as the first member of VA’s VET TEC Employer Consortium. Pairing Veterans with industry-leading training providers, VET TEC helps graduates acquire skills in IT in a matter of months, in fields such as information science, software, computer programming, and data processing.

Data from this social listening research confirms that Veterans are prioritizing their education and actively seeking ways to remain competitive in today’s job market. Through working with programs like VET TEC, Accenture can help Veterans find meaningful employment once they complete their training.

As VA’s first VET TEC employer partner, Accenture is committed to:

• Strengthening the program’s Veteran hiring pipeline by providing direct employment opportunities for VET TEC graduates
• Furthering graduate vocational goals by participating in mentor programs, interview prep sessions, and resource fairs

At Accenture, we realize the exponential value that VET TEC students bring in both technology skills and military experience. Not only do we support this program, but we are committed to recruiting this talent – from a program we helped mobilize, into our own workforce.

This is the power of Accenture – we’ve coupled public-private partnerships and technology to be able to recruit our #1 asset – our people.