The Peace Corps and the Small Business Administration are partnering to help Peace Corps volunteers find jobs either in entrepreneurship or in the federal workforce after their service ends.

Maria Contreras-Sweet, the SBA administrator, and Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Peace Corps director, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that essentially says that SBA and Peace Corps will work together to educate Peace Corps volunteers about entrepreneurship, especially those involved in business and economic development, and will help find jobs for Peace Corps volunteers upon completion of their service.

The SBA will be conducting job training and outreach for Peace Corps volunteers. This includes providing resources to the Peace Corps to facilitate that education, including literature and other educational materials. In addition, it will send recruiters to job fairs and provide speakers for workshops, conferences and seminars.

SBA will also reach out to its partners through the Offices of Entrepreneurial Development and International Trade to help provide job opportunities for Peace Corps volunteers.

In addition, SBA will increase awareness among federal managers that they can hire Peace Corps volunteers through non-competitive eligibility under Executive Order 11103; the Peace Corps is an independent federal agency, so volunteers qualify for this consideration.

SBA itself will, in fact, seek to become an Employer of National Service, an organization that endeavors to create job opportunities specifically for the alumni of the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.

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