Nearly 20 million men and women in the United States are veterans, and every year more than 200,000 individuals leave active duty and return to civilian life. Veterans are an incredibly important part of our nation’s workforce—and we are proud to invest in programs that inspire, educate and prepare them to succeed in the workforce of today and tomorrow. Over the past two years, the Cognizant U.S. Foundation has committed more than $5 million in 10+ communities across the country to support veterans and military families in the workforce.

The Foundation knows that through their military service, our nation's veterans have gained skills that are highly sought after in the private sector—leadership, discipline, teamwork and commitment, to name a few. Veteran Michael Reid, a Client Partner at Cognizant and key member of Cognizant’s Veteran Network, recalls the support he received between his time in the U.S. Army and entering the workforce as being critical to his professional success.

“I have been able to move up in my career because of programs that helped me translate the skills I developed in the military to those necessary to succeed in a business environment,” said Reid. “It is essential that we support our veterans during the transition period away from military service by helping them explore off-ramps into new careers.”

During Veterans and Military Families Month in November, we highlight our commitment to support those who served their country with honor and dignity. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has especially impacted veterans and military families, with the veterans unemployment rate more than tripling from pre-pandemic levels—only increasing the importance of the work being done by groups focused on helping veterans, those unemployed and underemployed.

The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is one such organization. The Foundation has worked with WWP since 2018 to support its Warriors to Work program, helping 500+ veterans gain digital skills necessary for in-demand technology careers.

Since March of this year, WWP has seen a 15% increase in demand for emergency financial assistance and 35% increase in demand for employment services. After recognizing these changes in demand, we shifted our work to focus not only on technical skills development, but also the wraparound supports needed to succeed—because of this, our refocused partnership will specifically support injured veterans, caregivers and family support members through career counseling and employment services.

And, we know the importance of investing in organizations with localized expertise—that is why we are excited about our recent investment in NPower that will specifically support veterans and military families in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

As NPower notes, “the DFW area is one of the fastest-growing digital hubs in the U.S. and home to the fifth-largest tech labor force. Despite this opportunity, 400,000+ veterans, and their spouses, living in the metro [face challenges] to adapt to the specialized workforce.” The Foundation’s commitment will support two cohorts of veterans and military families through NPower’s signature Tech Fundamentals program, where they will receive no-cost training and industry-recognized certifications to fast-track into tech careers with strong income potential.

Other Foundation grantees, such as The Turing School, based in Denver, Colorado, offer industry-relevant technical skills through immersive software development programs. The Foundation has partnered with Turing to double the school’s number of veteran and military family students from 10% to 20%. To accomplish this goal, the Turing School has built partnerships with both national organizations and local veterans and family groups in Denver and Colorado Springs to offer veterans-focused ‘Try Coding’ bootcamps and share career pathways for how veterans can enter the tech workforce.

In addition to technical skills training, the school offers continuous job coaching and professional development; 1:1 and group mental health counseling; and 1:1 support for navigating barriers to enrollment—the wraparound supports that are so critical to ensuring successful career entry points for veterans.

We are honored to share the work being done by our grantees to support veterans and their families—and we will continue to showcase our commitment to serving those who have served every day of the year.