Military Times EDGE

The Port of Seattle is helping new veterans transition to a civilian career with short-term paid fellowships, a model it hopes will be adopted by corporations around the country.

Vets in the Veterans Fellowship Program, which launched in May 2008, work for six months in areas ranging from accounting to purchasing. Their pay varies from about $20 to $30 an hour with the type of work, but all receive medical and dental benefits. Mentors and human resources professionals help them learn the ropes of a civilian work place, identify transferable skills, hone their interview skills and polish their résumés.

So far, about half of the nine participants have taken jobs with the port at the end of the fellowship. Eligible applicants have at least three years of active-duty service or mobilized reserve duty and are within six months of an honorable discharge.

For more information and to apply, visit www.portseattle.org/about/employment/veterans.shtml.