Evening star., 1945-07-08
Veteran Groups
Protest Women
Job Advisers
Ask McNutt to Name
Former Servicemen
AS CounseIIors
By MIRIAM OTTENBERG.

Spokesman for three major vet
erans' organizations have protested
to War Manpower Chief McNutt
because six of the seven counsellors
in newly established employment
counselling program here are women
and none of them are veterans, it
was learned last night.
Contending that veterans-many
OF whom have never worked before
will need as much if not more ad-
vice about choosing the right job
than any other group, the three
appealed to Mr.. McNutt to appoint
veterans as employment counsellors.
Participating in the conference
with Mr.. McNutt late last week were
Lee Pennington, American Legion;
In H. Neville Thompson, Veterans
of Foreign Wars, and FoScolo C.
Hendrick, Disabled American Vet
Grams.
Urge Naming of Veterans.
They told Mr.. McNutt they
thought veterans should be the
ones to help their fellow ex-Service-
men iron out their employment diff
ficulties. Under the CT Bill of
Rights, veterans employment rep
resentativeS must be veterans. They
endeavor to place the veterans in
jobs but when the veteran isn't sure
what he wants to do or how he can
best use the skills he learned in
the armed forces, he is turned over
to an employment counsellor under
the new program in United States
Service offices.
Mr.. Pennington quoted Mr.. Nc
Mutt as saying he would look into
the situation and see what could
be done A national manpower
official said he thought a staff
meeting probably would be called
to discuss the appeal.
Local manpoWer officials ex-
planned that the job specifications
TO remployment counsellors issued
by national VINO covered several
pages but made no reference to
whether the counsellors should be
veterans or nonveterans, men or
women.
Select Best Qualified.
AS result, it was explained, the
Washington area VINO Office sent
a bulletin to the two Washington
USES Offices asking interested en-
ployeS to turn in a description Of
their training and experience. These
work histories, it was explained.
were measured against the Job
specifications and recommendation
OF supervisors and the best quail
fed were selected.
The veterans organizations
spokesmen took this position:
Veterans as employment COUNSEL
lors would be more sympathetic,
inspire more confidence and have
more understanding of the prob
lens of their fellow veterans.
Some veterans have injuries
which limit their job opportunities
but these they would not feel free
to discuss with a woman counsel
lor.
A number of ex-servicemen have
had special training in personnel
and counselling work in the armed
forces.
Employment counselling repre-
sents job opportunity for veterans
and I'VE know there is going to be
a lot of trouble in getting jobs for
all of them"
Expect to Expand Aid.
National rnanpower officials who
wrote the job specifications for the
counsellors contended
that although some localities are
serving only veterans at this point.
the idea is that these services should
be expanded to include youths Just
coming into the labor market, older
workers entering or re-entering the
labor market, workers who must
to new occupational fields
because Of plant shut-downs, Job
applicants with physical disabilities
and those with personal problems
which make it difficult for them to
get or hold jobs.
"The qualifications for jobs as
counsellors," said one
national manpower official, ARE
and occupational. Mem
oership in a given group for which
his service is intended is not
necessarily an occupational asset
1or would it compensate for lack
If training"
The protest on the employment
,ounsellors is the second recent one
made against women advising vet
.ra9s. At a District Building con-
'erence on the Districts veterans
information center, veterans of both
vars said they didn't want to cast
any aspersions on the women ad-
1isors but they felt that veterans
should be the ones to advise veter-
inS.