Veterans Employment and Training Service

The Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service is a civilian agency within the Department of Labor that contracts for and funds grants supporting employment training, placement, and support services for veterans and transitioning service members.

The agency operates a modest contract portfolio alongside a substantially larger grant program. On the contracting side, the Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service has awarded 389 contracts with a combined potential value of $796 million since 1991, with $473.9 million obligated to date. Recent contract activity has declined: 8 awards in 2021, 6 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 5 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent contract award closed on September 28, 2026. Among prime contractors active in the last five years, the competitive landscape is concentrated, dominated by Serco Inc., which holds $383 million in combined potential value across 2 awards. Management Concepts, Inc. follows with 4 awards worth $13.1 million combined potential value. Serco alone accounts for a disproportionate share of recent contract dollars despite representing only 2 of 25 recent awards; by-count leadership is more fragmented, with Management Concepts and Telling Your Story LLC each holding 4 awards. The 181 distinct prime contractors awarded across the full portfolio reflect a long tail of small and mid-market vendors. Set-aside activity is minimal: 71 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business awards represent the largest reserved category at 10 percent, followed by small-business set-asides at 7 percent and 8(a) sole-source at 6 percent.

The grant portfolio is substantially more active. The agency has awarded 3,130 grants totaling $4.3 billion in federal dollars obligated since 2000, with activity running at 121 to 171 awards per year over the last five years. The most recent grant award closed on December 1, 2025. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented: the top five recipients by federal dollars account for only 5 percent of recent federal dollars obligated, led by state commerce and labor departments (Florida at $72.4 million, North Carolina at $62.5 million, and New York at $52.4 million across 4 awards each). By award count, Goodwill Industries of Michiana Inc. and Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists Inc. lead with 23 and 22 awards respectively, but they represent only 14 percent of recent awards. Assistance is predominantly Project Grants (72 percent of awards) with a substantial share of Formula Grants (28 percent); Cooperative Agreements account for fewer than 1 percent of awards. Grant recipients span 587 distinct entities, reflecting a field of nonprofit, state, and workforce-development organizations. Business development professionals should note the agency's heavy emphasis on grant funding over contracting and the highly fragmented competitive and recipient landscape on both sides.

VETS provides resources to prepare and assist veterans obtain meaningful careers and maximize their employment opportunities.