From War Zone to Work Zone

Nonprofits are offering training, networking help

As military personnel return from fighting for their country, some nonprofit organizations and companies are welcoming them home by fighting to provide them with an easier transition to successful civilian jobs.

The national Helmets to Hardhats program, working here with the Connecticut Department of Labor, and the newly launched Watchmaker and Technician Training Program for Disabled War Veterans and War Veterans, work to place returning veterans in lucrative and rewarding jobs.

In the private sector, General Electric is one example of a company offering careers along with transition services to departing and returning veterans.

While the Watchmaker Initiative, with support from the American Watch Guild, aims to persuade veterans to consider a career in the watch-making profession, the Helmets to Hardhats program connects military personnel with career opportunities in the construction industry.

"Helmets to Hardhats is dedicated to helping military veterans transition into an industry that provides family supporting wages, good benefits and job security — the construction industry," said Tad Kicielinski, the Helmets to Hardhats manager of communications.

Established in 2003, Helmets to Hardhats is a Web-based program administered by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment and Veterans Employment and is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

It employs 13 field directors who actively connect veterans with people in trades such as carpentry, plumbing and masonry, said Kicielinski.

Unlike other job board sites, employers who post career opportunities on the Helmets to Hardhats Web site are required to participate in apprenticeship training programs registered and approved by the state labor department's apprenticeship program.

"This relationship has been very successful on a national level," said Jack Guererra, the Connecticut Labor Department Apprenticeship program manager. "Many times in the past returning veterans wouldn't know where to turn, and now they know about a successful program that can help them."

Guererra said his department's relationship to the Helmets to Hardhats program is secondary in the hiring process, because its duties include registering apprenticeship companies that Helmets to Hardhats personnel have already developed a partnership with.

The apprenticeship program department also provides stipends to veterans participating in the apprenticeships until their training is complete, which usually takes about four years, but may be shortened depending on military experience, according to Guererra.

Upon completing an apprenticeship, the apprentice then becomes a Journeyman. Although pay range varies depending on the trade, an apprentice working for a union usually makes between $10 and $14 an hour, while a Journeyman usually makes between $24 and $30 an hour, according to Guererra.

The Helmets to Hardhats program has partnerships with companies nationwide, including Northrop Grumman, and 15 building trades unions.

Another program working toward a similar goal is the roughly four-month-old War Veterans Watchmaker Initiative.

VWI's creation was inspired by the success of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, which got its start training returning World War II veterans. That program closed in 2000, said Robert Filotei, VWI national director and Fairfield resident.

Now, increased watch sales (thanks to the growth of mechanical watches) coupled with an older, retiring work force have created a large demand for qualified watchmakers, Filotei said.

"We want to train our technically oriented war veterans, so that they can pursue the noble profession of watch making, while also saving the industry," Filotei said.

VWI is in partnership with the 11 watch-making schools in the United States, and Filotei said he is working to increase partnership with more watch-making companies and retailers.

"We work together with the schools and companies," said Filotei. "If a school scholarship pays for schooling, we pay for the tools."

New York-based Tourneau and Seattle-based Ben Bridge Jewelers are two watch retailers that have already signed on with the program, and both have offered to test and train interested candidates.

"We have always had a strong affiliation with the armed services," said Jeff Griess, the head watchmaker for Ben Bridge Jewelers. "With the shortage of watchmakers, it makes sense for us to align ourselves with this organization."

Veterans who express interest in the program do not need any professional experience, and will be placed with retailers or watch service centers for a short apprenticeship to decide if they want to pursue a career in the industry, said Filotei.

Veterans can then choose to quickly train for labor-intensive positions or start a two-year watchmaker course.

Participating veterans can earn between $30,000 and $60,000, depending on their training and certification received, according to the VWI Web site.

The goal of both programs is not simply to address veteran unemployment, but to give unemployed veterans high-quality jobs that can provide high wages and good benefits, according to Filotei and Kicielinski.

In 2006, while the average unemployment rates of both veterans and nonveterans were roughly equal at about five percent, 15 percent of veterans between the ages of 20 and 24 were unemployed, compared to 8 percent of nonveterans in the same age group, according to the state labor department.

However, since then, unemployment rates for veterans and nonveterans in the 20-to-24 age group have also become roughly equal at about 12 percent, according to the 2007 unemployment report.

Terry Brennan, director of the state department's Office for Veteran's Workforce Development, said the decreased unemployment rate of the younger generation of war veterans in 2007 reflects the effectiveness of new transition programs.

"Transition programs are better and faster now than they were a few years ago," said Brennan.

"I think the most alarming trend in veteran employment, when you look at the big picture, isn't joblessness, it's the quality of jobs veterans are finding," said Kicielinski. "The Helmets to Hardhats program is not just about finding veterans a job — it's about finding them a quality career."

More information about the Helmets to Hardhats program can be found at www.helmetstohardhats.org, and information about the Veteran's War Initiative is at www.vetwatchtraining.org.

This article was reprinted with permission of the Connecticut Post.