Helmets to Hardhats offers jobs to military members

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 512th Airlift Wing, Delaware National Guard, Delaware Building and Construction trade unions, and state of Delaware showed their support of veterans and their quest for employment during a ceremony May 4 at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 313 union hall in New Castle. 

Col. William Stephens, 512th Mission Support Group commander, was one of eight individuals who signed the proclamation supporting the national program Helmets to Hardhats. 

Delaware became the 18th state to sign a proclamation supporting the program, which was founded by Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Matthew P. Caulfield and his son Dan, a former Marine Corps officer. 

Helmets to Hardhats is a federally-funded program that began in January 2003 to create employment opportunities for reservists, guardsmen and transitioning active-duty military members through paid apprenticeships with building trade unions and contractors throughout the country. 

“It’s a great program,” said Colonel Stephens. “The construction industry can benefit from the discipline, dedication and leadership abilities of our military members, and it’s a great way for our military members to learn a new trade while earning a good living. It truly is a win-win.” 

The Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment administers the program, which is cosponsored by 15 building and construction trades organizations, as well as their employer associations, which together represent about 82,000 contractors, according to the Helmets to Hardhats Web site. 

“This program is about as patriotic as any program there is,” said Delaware Lt. Gov. John Carney, who also signed the proclamation. “We often forget about those service men and women when they return home. It makes a tremendous amount of business sense.” 

About 40 percent of the construction industry workforce will retire in the next decade so the construction industry is looking to recruit 1 million workers between 2002 and 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

As of May, 276 military candidates have registered in Delaware for the use of the Helmets to Hardhats program and 14 local trade unions have posted 162 jobs on the Helmets to Hardhats Web site. Nationally, 127,886 candidates have registered through the program’s Web site, which lists 72,000 jobs.