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IBEW and NECA Support New Program to
Recruit Military Veterans for Construction Careers

The innovative Helmets to Hardhats Program, designed in response to a critical work force shortage in the construction industry, seeks to recruit U.S. military personnel leaving the armed services into construction jobs.

The IBEW and the National Electrical Contractors Association have enlisted in the Helmets to Hardhats program, which the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, helped initiate through its Apprenticeship and Training Committee. The program has the support of all BCTD unions and eight employer associations.

The Helmets to Hardhats initiative calls for establishment of a Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment & Veterans Employment to carry out this goal. The non-profit center, scheduled to open in January 2003, will be directed and managed by a board of labor and management trustees. IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill is one of the labor trustees.

The U.S. construction industry will need to recruit an additional 1.6 million workers in the next five years, estimates show.

Helmets to Hardhats hopes to recruit 700,000 workers for the construction industry from personnel exiting military service over the next five years.

Thousands of men and women leave military service each year to seek civilian jobsand many would be excellent candidates for work in the construction industry. In general, military service people are dependable and educated, with 99.9 percent holding at least a high school diploma. They are often trained in leadership, racially diverse, drug-free and typically have acquired a variety of technical skills required in construction.

The center will first assess a veterans level of training and experience. The program will then connect personnel with a local apprenticeship program where they will receive additional job training, or be provided journey-level placement with participating employers. The center also will screen employers to make sure contractors meet program criteria, including participation in federally approved apprentice programs, and demonstrate a record of fairness to workers.

Retired Marine Corps General Matthew P. Caulfield, who heads the HQ Group that is assisting establishment of the center, highly commends the union trades for their training facilities and hiring halls. Several members of Congress are seeking a $5 million earmark in the fiscal 2003 budget to fund the program.