Veterans Green Corps comes online with CoolWorks

I had the chance to talk to Amy Foss, Director of Operations for the Southwest Conservation Corps, about the Veterans Green Corps. These are great opportunities for veterans who have recently returned from overseas. Below are Amy's answers to some of my questions. Please spread the word about these opportunities to any veterans you know!

What is Veterans Green Corps?
Veterans Green Jobs (VGJ) has combined efforts with the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) to create Veterans Green Corps (VGC) to provide transformative and leadership building work experience for veterans.
The Southwest Conservation Corps has led the way in building structured, safe and challenging work and educational opportunities through employment projects that promote personal growth, the development of social skills, and an ethic of natural resource stewardship. Veterans Green Jobs is dedicated to providing exemplary green jobs education and career development opportunities for military veterans, empowering and supporting them to lead America’s transition to energy independence, ecological restoration, community renewal, and economic prosperity.

Who do you hire and where do you work?
Together VGJ and SCC will launch veteran conservation crews that will camp in teams and complete conservation projects on public lands starting in June 2009. Projects will occur throughout Southwest Colorado, based out of Durango or Salida, CO. There are several opportunities available and all require veteran status and DD214 documentation.

What type of projects does the Veterans Green Corps do?
VJC programs work on a variety of conservation projects in non-remote and remote areas. These projects include trail maintenance, trail construction, and fuels reduction projects. Individuals are trainned specifically for each type of project.

When do the jobs start and end?
Depends on the position. Conservation Crew Members start June 8th and end Aug. 14th.
Crew Leaders start May 18 and end Aug. 14th.
Program Specialist the start date is to be announced but will run through November 20th.

What training is provided and what job skills are taught?
Specific training is completed for each project. Trainings that may be included in the VJC program include: crosscut saw training, S-212 Introduction to Powersaw, and S-130/190 Firefighting and Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior.

Can time with the Veterans Green Corps lead to other more permanent positions?
The VJC program is very focused on developing marketable job skills, especially in land management and conservation fields. VJC will help individuals find employment in land management agencies and with private contracts completing similar projects after a successful term of employment.

Thanks to Amy for the interview. Please spread the word about these jobs!