Helmets to Hardhats Launches Improved Program to Place Veterans into the Construction Industry
Quality Career Training
WASHINGTON D.C., March 21, 2007– The Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans
Employment (CMRAVE) today announced the launch of the revamped Helmets to Hardhats training and
employment program. This national program connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning
active-duty military members with quality career training and employment opportunities within the
building and construction industry.
The Helmets to Hardhats program is jointly sponsored by the fifteen unions of the Building and
Construction Trades and their signatory Construction Industry Employer Associations (www.bctd.org). The trades and the employer associations
recognize that, in addition to having certified skills, veterans posses hard-to-find traits like
maturity, accountability, responsibility, and teamwork. The trades and the employers
association support the program because it fulfills an important promise to returning veterans to
help ensure their successful return to civilian life.
“When you get back from serving America, we stand ready to serve you. You defend our
future. Let us help you build yours,” said Edward C. Sullivan, President Building and
Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and Labor Co-Chairman of the CMRAVE, while speaking
to a group of returning servicemembers.
This commitment is wholeheartedly supported by the signatory employers and contractors in the
construction industry. "These folks served our country…they fought for our country and no one
deserves a better opportunity for a career in the construction industry than they do,” said Iz
Cakrane, Washington Group International and Employer Co-Chairman of the CMRAVE.
Military.com and Monster Government Solutions (MGS), subsidiaries of Monster Worldwide,
collaborated to provide the technology and expertise to power the revamped Web site and enhanced
program. Monster Government Solutions, which has developed technology for many successful
government programs such as USAJOBS, powered the technology behind the Helmets to Hardhats Web
Site, while Military.com, which operates the largest online military community on the Web with more
than eight million members, lent its military expertise and resources.
“Military veterans represent a resource for highly skilled talent. They are a highly
trainable which makes them ideal for union apprenticeships,” said Tom Aiello, Vice President,
Military.com “Also, veterans’ strong leadership skills can fill critical shortages for foremen and
site managers in the construction industry.”
The Center realized a revamp was essential to stay true to its commitment to veterans, Unions
and Employers in the Construction industry. “We want to be the first place Veterans, Apprenticeship
Program Instructors, construction employers go, and we want to deliver them the highest quality
veteran candidates,” explained Darrell Roberts, Executive Director for Helmets to Hardhats. “The
apprenticeship training programs operated by joint labor management and training committees are a
great value to veterans because they offer the best construction industry training in the country.
Apprentices get paid while they train, and workers in the building and construction trades have
excellent wages, health, and insurance benefits.”
“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for veterans, unions, and employers to find each
other,” said Steve Cooker, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Monster Government
Solutions. “When we accomplish that, we’ve changed the way the construction industry finds
talent and helped thousands of veterans in the process.”
About Helmets to Hardhats
The program helps servicemembers and military veterans put their training to use as they transition to jobs in the building and construction trades. Launched in January 2003 with funding from the Defense Department, Helmets to Hardhats provides an important link between veterans and soon-to-be veterans and 15 building and construction trades organizations clambering for their skills. Collectively, these organizations represent three million construction workers and about 82,000 contractors nationwide. The program is run by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment, a joint labor management committee created by the BCTD and various other employer associations.
The program helps servicemembers and military veterans put their training to use as they transition to jobs in the building and construction trades. Launched in January 2003 with funding from the Defense Department, Helmets to Hardhats provides an important link between veterans and soon-to-be veterans and 15 building and construction trades organizations clambering for their skills. Collectively, these organizations represent three million construction workers and about 82,000 contractors nationwide. The program is run by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment, a joint labor management committee created by the BCTD and various other employer associations.
