Little Caesars Pizza Franchise and VetFran Mentioned in Detroit News Article

After spending most of the past quarter-century dodging sniper bullets, stepping over land mines and sleeping with one eye open, 45-year-old Tom Davis of Lansing retired from the Air Force in March and, for the first time in his life, began looking for a job.

Once he returned from Iraq with the 107th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Davis applied for a few jobs and considered teaching, but his passion for writing won out. He started his own magazine about everyday heroes with the help of a state-run program aimed at assisting entrepreneurs.

Hundreds of Michigan veterans like Davis have returned from tours of duty in Iraq to face the often grim prospects of finding a job.

"When they leave the service, if they went in without a job, they come out without a job," said John Bierbusse, executive director of the Macomb-St. Clair Michigan Works! office. "Of course in Michigan, they're coming back to a pretty tough market."

To ease the burden of finding work while still getting used to civilian life, dozens of federal, state and private agencies are offering vets special services -- from a program that gives them a break on the cost of opening a Franchise to state job fairs targeted at military men and women.

Davis was grateful for help from the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center to get his magazine off the ground. "I learned from their Web site how to write a business plan," he said.

While the unemployment rate of veterans nationally was a healthy 3.8 percent in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, it likely was much higher in Michigan as the state struggles through one of its worst economic downturns in years. States don't track employment of veterans, but with Michigan's overall 7.1 percent jobless rate, compared to 4.5 percent nationally, veterans here face a more challenging job market.

Younger veterans who only have a high school education and no work history will have an even tougher time, Bierbusse said.

While the U.S. unemployment rate for young vets, ages 20 to 24, improved dramatically last year from 2005, it was still 10.4 percent, much higher than the 8.1 percent of their non-veteran counterparts.

"We are reaching out to employers through the HireVetsFirst.gov campaign to emphasize the value veterans bring to their businesses and to help them recruit veterans," said Charles S. Ciccolella, assistant secretary of labor for Veterans' Employment and Training.

The campaign has identified more than 10,000 employers with specific interest in hiring veterans, he said.

Vets have sought-after traits

Veterans have many qualities that companies want in an employee, including the ability to work as a team, discipline, punctuality, maturity, integrity and a strong work ethic, employment experts and recruiters say.

But for some, the skills they learn in the military are not easily transferable to civilian workplaces, and they need more education or training, said John Challenger of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

That's especially true for veterans who began service right out of high school. "It's hard to find skilled work without that degree," Challenger said.

On the plus side, military alums make a point to recruit veterans or serve as sources for vets looking for a job, Challenger said.

Consumers Energy likes to hire former Navy men and women, said Bill Eckert, senior human resources consultant.

About a dozen veterans were hired to work at the Consumers Energy plants in Muskegon last year as operators, machinists, welders and in other jobs.

"Besides their discipline and maturity, Navy veterans have the skills to match a number of jobs" at the company, Eckert said.

Programs place quickly

Whether veterans want to work for someone else or start their own business, companies are working with military and employment agencies to place vets in jobs quickly, said Kent Brickman, manager of the employment readiness program at U.S. Army Garrison Detroit Arsenal at Selfridge.

Brickman said he's assisted about 25 veterans looking for jobs in the past six weeks. The military program has partnerships with 20 companies such as Home Depot, Sears and CVS pharmacy.

Brickman helped 37-year-old Lawrence Fields get a job managing the Roseville Kmart after he came back from Iraq in September. Fields, who served in the Navy for 17 years and is preparing to separate from the military completely, said he loves his job, the people he works with and living in Metro Detroit.

"I'm enjoying every single minute of it," said Fields, a Florida native who lives in Mount Clemens.

When he first got back to the country, Fields looked for a job in Texas, where his fiancee lives, but was unable to find work. That's when he contacted Brickman, who found him the job at Kmart.

Fields said he likes the management position because he enjoys interacting with people and being part of the hustle and bustle of a busy workplace. His good communications skills and ability to work with people made him an ideal candidate for the job, he said.

Like federal agencies, state agencies and private organizations are doing more to hook veterans up with jobs. The Small Business & Technology Development Center in Macomb, one of 12 in the state, doesn't have programs specifically for vets, but the center is making an effort to reach out to vets who want to start a business, regional director Don Morandini said.

Davis got the information he needed to start his magazine from the small-business center at Grand Valley State University, which also offered him free courses on operating a business. The first issue of "The American Journal of Victory & Valor" came out last month.

The assistance he got from the center, Internet and, most importantly from friends and supporters of his idea, made the business possible, he said.

"I got direct help from the (center), but the encouragement from friends is more what I needed," said Davis, who gets a $1,900-a-month pension from the military.

Franchises eye veterans

Younger vets in particular are expressing interest in a program called the Veterans Transition franchise Initiative, or VetFran, begun two years ago by the International Franchise Association, said Terry Hill, vice president of communications for the association.

Companies in the program offer special deals ranging from discounts on franchise fees and equipment to free training and advertising. More than 600 Franchises have been sold to veterans through the program, and 150 sales are pending, Hill said. Twelve Michigan companies are participants.

A big plus of the program is that it gets veterans into the economic mainstream in a short time, Hill said. "The faster you can get into a reliable income stream," he said, "the faster you can start taking care of yourself and your family."

Bloomfield Hills-based ComForcare Senior Services is giving veterans 10 percent off its $19,500 franchise fee. The company hasn't sold a franchise to a veteran yet, but there has been some interest, said Brigitte Betser, director of sales.

As part of the VetFran program, Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. offers all veterans a discount of $5,000 off the franchise fee and $5,000 in credit for equipment. Disabled veterans get those and other benefits totaling $68,000.

"We think it's a win-win for veterans and for Little Caesars," said Rick Moreno, vice president of administration and strategic planning.

The Detroit-based pizza company has had more than 700 inquiries, 56 applications and one taker so far in Allentown, Pa.

Little Caesars owner Mike Ilitch also is giving a franchise to Robbie Doughty, a 31-year-old Army veteran in Paducah, Ky., who lost both his legs in Iraq.

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