If you are looking to get a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs, you are not alone.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Veterans Benefits Administration Executive Director of the Office of Human Capital Services Aaron Lee said the number of applications VBA receives for open claims processor jobs has taken a significant jump since the PACT Act was signed into law in August and now averages between 3,000 to 5,000 per announcement.
“It’s a great problem to have,” he said. “It obviously adds a little bit of time into sorting through the resumes and making sure we’re picking the most qualified applicants, but I’d much rather have that challenge than for us not to have enough candidates.”
VA Secretary Denis McDonough credited both the PACT Act, which is expected to bring about 3.5 million additional veterans to the VA for care, and RAISE Act for giving it the tools it needs to increase its workforce.
“We need aggressively to hire the people who will deliver the benefits and world-class health care that vets have earned and deserve,” McDonough said.
Lee said an assessment tool pilot program is being used b VA that will help applicants cut down the time of having to go through a laborious interview or multi-interview process.
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“So we’re able to cut down to that best-qualified list a lot faster, and then our hiring managers have an easier time of making those particular selections,” he said.
VA Assistant Secretary for Human Resource Administration OperationsGina Grosso said the PACT Act also mandates a national rural recruitment and hiring plan which is on schedule and should be completed by March 31, 2023.
“This legislation provides a broad range of recruiting and retention authorities that will allow the VA to recruit and retain the workforce we need to provide the care and benefits to the nation’s veterans, their caregivers, and survivors,” she said.
Chief of Human Capital Management at the Veterans Health Administration Jessica Bonjorni said VHA hired 47,000 new employees in the Fiscal Year 2022. However, VHA continues to face challenges in filling entry-level positions like housekeeping, even though the PACT Act removed restrictions on hiring housekeeping aides. she said.
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McDonough also noted said that VBA received 19% more claims this year than last year and is processing up to 7,900 claims a day.
“It used to be that getting over 7,000 claims processed in a day was a good day. Now we have much greater expectations,” he said.
VA has scheduled a national onboarding surge event the week of Nov. 14, in an effort to get those who have already accepted job offers signed up and on the job quickly.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.