Pearson Government Solutions Inc. won a $24.7 million task order from the General Services Administration to help veterans who are eligible for education benefits.

GSA awarded the task order under its USA Services’ FirstContact program, an e-government initiative that offers contact center services to federal agencies. These services include telephone and e-mail inquiries, a citizens’ services cost calculator and a procurement tool kit that helps federal clients with their procurement documents.

Pearson will train customer service representatives at its call center in Richmond, Va., to help veterans who want to get a college degree, enroll in vocational programs and receive on-the-job or apprentice training. The representatives will provide information about the education and training programs administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration within the Veterans Affairs Department.

Pearson Government Solutions of Arlington, Va., federal government clients include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Office of Personnel Management.

The company ranks No. 36 on Washington Technology’s 2006 Top 100 list.