Downriver Today

A $250,000 state grant intended to match 225 veterans with apprenticeship programs in Michigan's construction industry is a way to empower those veterans and get roads fixed.

The Helmets to Hardhats grant was awarded by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D-Mich.) office and the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), according to a press release from the governor's office. The grants will support the Michigan Construction Apprenticeship post-Military Opportunity (MiCAMO).

"The MiCAMO Program offers active-duty and retired military veterans meaningful career opportunities in Michigan’s construction industry," Whitmer said in the press release. "To continue fixing our roads and bridges so people can go to work or drop their kids off at school safely, we need high-quality construction completed by highly-skilled workers. The MiCAMO Program will empower those who served [to] land a good-paying, high-skill, and in-demand job and help employers fill open positions. We will stay focused on growing our economy and turbocharging our progress to keep fixing our infrastructure."

The MiCAMO Program works to transition active-duty and retired military service veterans, including National Guard reservists, into registered apprenticeship paths that lead to in-demand and well-paying construction jobs, the press release noted.

"We are continuously looking for solutions to address the skilled talent needs of our state's employers – and the MiCAMO Program does that and much more," Stephanie Beckhorn, director of LEO's Office of Employment and Training, said. "The program not only helps address the talent needs of one of our state's crucial industries – construction – but it also expands high-wage opportunities for Michigan Veterans. MiCAMO will have a real impact on Michigan families, businesses, and communities."

Zaneta Adams, Michigan Veterans Affairs agency director, spoke about the program as well.

"Veterans represent the best-of-the-best that our workforce has to offer," Adams said in the press release. "This program is exciting because it helps veterans realize the many opportunities to gain skills and sustainable income and enables them to increase the economic footprint in their communities. Serving the community is what veterans have been trained to do."

The program looks for registered apprenticeships that "are industry-driven, high-quality career training programs in which employers develop and prepare Michigan's future workforce," the press release said. Apprentices receive paid work experience, classroom instruction, and nationally industry-recognized credentials once they complete the program.

LEO's support of Helmets to Hardhats reaches more veterans and changes lives, Martin Helms, Helmets to Hardhats executive director, said in the press release.

"We agree with Gov. Whitmer on the importance of transitioning active-duty and retired military veterans with meaningful career opportunities in an industry that is critical to our state's infrastructure," Helms said. "Our outreach to military service members allows us to connect them to middle-class, family-sustaining career opportunities. We cannot thank LEO enough for their commitment to our nation's military veterans and the Helmets to Hardhats program."