Helmets to Hardhats

Supporting our troops doesn’t just mean honoring their heroism on the field of battle. It goes beyond that, to helping the men and women in our armed forces bring their bravery, work ethic and knowledge back home, establishing careers where their years of service to our country can continue with success.

Helmets to Hardhats is such an organization, conceived in 2002 and established in 2003 as a conduit for helping U.S. military veterans, reservists and national guardsmen find careers in the construction industry after their time in the armed forces.

“They have served honorably and we should honor their service by providing them with a genuine opportunity to earn family-supporting wages and benefits when they come home so they too can realize the American dream,” says Darrell L. Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats.  “And although our outreach tactics and methodologies change periodically, our core mission remains the same. We believe that we, as a nation, owe our military sons and daughters something more significant than a firm handshake and a pat on the back for a job well-done when they return home.”

We totally agree. In fact, you can give us a construction crew of hardworking, military-caliber employees any day of the week, and we think most companies would agree. To help facilitate the process, Compact Equipment sat down with Mr. Roberts to discuss the ins and outs of this fantastic program.

CE: Helmets to Hardhats is such a great idea, but how does it really work. Walk us through the process. How would a veteran or reservist get involved with being listed?

Roberts: Participation in Helmets to Hardhats is easy; simply visit www.helmetstohardhats.org and click the “Get Started” button to create and activate your profile. Once your profile is activated, you can browse thousands of career and training postings and apply for these opportunities electronically. Also, as a registered candidate you gain access to your designated regional director. Regional directors are well-informed program advocates who possess either a strong military or a building trades background or, in many cases, both. Your regional director can help you determine which craft is the best fit for you and provide you with valuable information about career opportunities currently available in your area.

How often are job listings updated?  How many listings do you have currently?  

Helmets to Hardhats account representatives update employment opportunity information daily by reaching out to active jobseekers and career providers to ensure that career-related information provided by our website is up to date and relevant to program users. As of June 9, 2010, Helmets to Hardhats had 2,841 active career and training opportunities.

Flipping the coin, how do construction contractors go about using the program and essentially hiring hardworking veterans?

Interested personnel and companies are encouraged to register at recruiter.helmetstohardhats.org. After completing the registration, they will be contacted by a Helmets to Hardhats representative concerning their request. Employers who qualify for Helmets to Hardhats gain instant access to a pool of construction industry career seekers who are hardworking, drug-free, safety-conscience and highly dependable.

Also, the Helmets to Hardhats website provides many great tools for employers to help them locate job seekers who have special skills. Do you need someone with underwater welding experience? Would you like to interview a military EMT with frontline field experience who is now considering a civilian career in Construction Safety and Health? Helmets to Hardhats candidates possess specialized training, hands-on experience and professional discipline that you simply cannot find in the regular workforce.

Are there any tax benefits for hiring employees from Helmets to Hardhats?

Yes! While business owners should make every effort to assist our returning troops by providing them with rewarding and honorable employment, there are also a number of federal and state tax incentives that offer added impetus to employers to provide our returning heroes with a rewarding career opportunity when they get home.

Federal tax benefits for hiring many veterans are available to business owners in any state. The federal benefits are available under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program. There is up to a $2,400 credit if:

1. A veteran who is a member of a family that has received food stamps for at least three consecutive months in the 15 months prior to the date of hire; or
2. A person with a disability who is participating in a vocational rehabilitation program through the U.S. Veteran’s Administration.

There is also a WOTC credit of up to $4,800 for veterans entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability who: were hired within 1 year of having been discharged, or released from activity duty or who has been unemployed for any 6 of the last 12 months. Employers hiring multiple WOTC qualified employees can make a significant dent in their federal income taxes. These benefits are explained and claimed on IRS Form 5884.

In addition to the federal WOTC program, 39 states, including California, have state-sponsored Enterprise Zone Programs. A few of these state programs allow employers to claim credits for a portion of employee wages paid to veterans. For example, California has a very large veteran population, and their state Enterprise Zone Program entitles employers that hire Vietnam-era veterans, or men and women who have been in the Armed Services/Reserves in the last 48 months, to claim up to 50 percent of the first $22,600 of W-2 wages as a tax credit during the first 12-month employment period. 

Provided the employee continues employment, a 40, 30, 20 and 10 percent credit is allowed for years two through five, resulting in a cumulative credit of over $35,000 over the five-year employment period (some California EZ websites have not been updated and they erroneously list a different amount).  Illinois and Arizona also allow credits for hiring veterans; however, the dollar amounts are only in the hundreds of dollars per employee.

While the programs vary from state to state, most of these credit programs also allow employer-level credits for employees (including veterans) who live in specified census tracts with higher than average poverty rates, were unemployed at some point prior to being hired, or if they were receiving some form of government assistance (e.g., food stamps, welfare, etc.) at the time of hire.

While the federal WOTC program will entitle businesses located in any region to benefit from hiring certain veterans, those states with Enterprise Programs that provide credits for hiring veterans also generally require the business that hires the veteran (or other “qualified” employee) to be located in specified incentive Zones.

Other federal and state benefits, including training funds, tuition reductions and the aforementioned military pay exemptions, are also available in many states. Other incentives which may benefit veterans include:

1. Federal Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Hiring Credit-Up to $8,500 over a two-year employment period if the employee was receiving welfare benefits prior to finding employment.
2. Mentor-Protégé Program-Allows certain government contractors reimbursements for training/incidental costs associated with training physically challenged veterans.

All of the above-referenced credits result in permanent tax benefits and can have a dramatic impact on a taxpayer’s tax burden. While the credits cannot generally eliminate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), certain programs allow full or partial AMT offset, and unused credits can generally be carried over for five or more years for federal purposes and, in some states, the credits never expire.

These business hiring credits and the resulting tax savings result in enhanced cash flow, lower labor costs, lower after-tax capital expenditures and enhanced business valuations. Amended returns for three years or more are allowed for federal purposes, and certain states also allow amended return refunds-which can average over $100,000 in many cases.

Ultimately, by claiming these tax incentives, the business owners are rewarded for their hiring practices and are often much more competitive in the marketplace. The long-term impact of the business owners’ actions also generally improves the lives of the employees, as well as the communities in which the business operates. Once business owners and their CPAs understand the financial and social impact of these programs, they do tend to alter their hiring practices and also tend to expand their facilities and workforce within the various federal and state incentive zones.

In your opinion, what types of military service veterans often find employment in the construction industry? Is there a certain resume or experience level that often fits for construction work?

Going from a helmet to a hardhat is a great opportunity for many of the 250,000 to 300,000 men and women discharged from the military every year. One great thing about Helmets to Hardhats is that honorable military service is all that’s required. The trades will teach you everything you need to know. Granted there are transitioning service members who are already building and construction professionals with many years of experience to draw upon. However, we have found that regardless of prior experience, service members typically have a “can do” attitude, a strong work ethic, are experienced working in a team environment and can perform well under pressure, which is typically what construction industry employers are looking for and are among the chief components for success as a construction industry professional.

Construction unemployment is one of the worst in this economy – we see numbers hovering near 25 percent unemployment for construction workers. Is it harder and harder to find construction employment for all types of workers, including veterans?

Yes, the economic slowdown has been challenging for the construction industry. Yet despite the adversity, our partners in the trades and our employers have been doing their utmost to help as many returning service members as they can. Our placements actually increased in 2008 over the 2007 numbers. However, the economic slowdown did impact our 2009 tally. Nevertheless, an economic rebound is only a matter of time and we are now seeing a few bright spots across the country where large projects are getting underway, benches are clearing and apprenticeship classes are reopening. We are working diligently to ensure that our program users are well positioned when the rebound fully manifests.

With construction unemployment being so high, is there any program that helps construction works find work in the military?

We currently don’t have a strategic partnership of a program that moves construction workers into the military. However, the Helmets to Hardhats programs works extremely well for Reservists and National Guardsmen who are periodically deployed. One of the many benefits of working in the skilled trade is that, due to the project-by-project nature of the work, you will never lose your job due deployment. The trades and the private employers we work with are, without exception, committed to respecting the rights of citizen soldiers who answer the call of duty.

How big is Helmets to Hardhats today? How many profiles do you have on your site? How many regional managers do you employee? How many veterans have you helped find jobs?

Helmets to Hardhats currently has eight regional directors, four state directors, three account representatives and five administrative officers at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., including the executive director and the Wounded Warrior Program Director, who administers our Wounded Warrior program to help disabled military veterans secure rewarding careers in construction. As of June 9, 2010, Helmets to Hardhats has 15,660 active accounts and 2,841 active career posting.

Because we refer candidates to career providers and refer career providers to candidates — without doing the actual hiring — it is impossible to know of everyone who has been hired. However, we do request placement information from our career providers and receive many calls from veterans thanking us for connecting them to great new career. In 2008, we confirmed the successful placements of 1,739 military veterans into lucrative careers in the building and construction trades via the H2H program. In 2009, we placed 1,060, 49 of which were Wound Warriors. Considering the high unemployment rate in our sector of the economy, we feel that helping more than a thousand veterans transition into the best careers in construction last year alone is a strong testament to the ardent support we receive from both the labor and management communities.

Are there certain construction industries or regions where you see companies and contractors hiring? What are some popular construction sectors that you see H2H alum finding good work in?

In the Northwest and the Southeast several large construction projects on the horizon. Apprenticeship classes are opening up in New England and there are numerous heavy highway projects on the drawing board in Southern California. In general, construction work is at a slow point in the cycle but opportunities are available, especially for those who are willing to travel or relocated to capitalize on current opportunities.

What other services or organizations do you recommend for veterans seeking work?

Nationally, the Department of Labor’s One-Stop Career Centers provide quality assistance to job seekers. Established under the Workforce Investment Act, the centers provide training referrals, career counseling, job listings and similar employment-related services. The Department of Veteran Affairs also offers a wide range of career opportunities nationwide and offer a veterans preference hiring system. However, a lot of meaningful veteran assistance happens on the state and local level. One of the great strengths of having a network of regional directors is that each and everyone one of them could provide you with a different answer to that question according to what is available and what works best for veterans in their designated area.

What advice would you give to a veteran when using this program, pulling together his/her resume or looking for employment after military service?

Typically, I advise them to detail the actual tasks that they were in charge of while in the military as they generate their profile, since many civilian employers do not understand military occupation codes. I also advise them to list all of the mechanical, construction and/or maintenance experience they may have accrued before joining or during their time in the military, including home renovations and usage of on-base hobby shops, auto shops, metal shops and wood shops.

When speaking with a candidate who does not have a great deal of practical experience in the trades, I suggest that they focus on life experiences and attributes that put them ahead of their civilian peers (responsibility, a team player, respect for authority, discipline, drive, etc.). Furthermore, many veteran résumés understate their most impressive credentials by burying awards and citations at the bottom of the résumé without explaining what those commendations represent. Without some context, a hiring managers and apprenticeship committees can easily overlook the significance of these accomplishments.

Since the trades teach their apprentices everything they need to know,
ultimately, what hiring managers are looking for are candidates with the
desire to become masters of their craft. Men and women with military
backgrounds understand that having a “best of the best” attitude and a
true commitment to professionalism are hallmarks characteristics of a
quality service member. The same holds true in the trades. Ask them for
the chance to prove yourself, give it your all and you will succeed.

Keith Gribbins is managing editor of Compact Equipment, based in Peninsula, Ohio.