Left to Right: Missouri Adjutant General King Sidwell, Marine Corps Major
General (retired) Matthew P. Caulfield, executive director of the national Helmets
to Hardhats program and Governor Matt Blunt.
Governor Matt Blunt signs a proclamation at the St. Louis Ironworkers Joint Apprenticeship Program
Training Center. Other individuals participating in the event included Gerald T. Feldhaus, Executive
Secretary Treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of St. Louis, and James A. Hathman,
General Organizer, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron
Workers.
Helmets to Hardhats is a nationwide program that connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning
active-duty military members with career training and employment opportunities in the building and
construction industry. The program is co-sponsored by all 15 building and trade organizations, as
well as their employer associations, which together represent about 82,000 contractors.
The program is at no-cost and allows candidates to access information about careers and apprenticeships
via the Internet from anywhere in the world. To apply for work or membership, each candidate completes
a comprehensive profile that helps Helmets to Hardhats refer candidates to the right program and
location. Both manual and non-manual careers are available to candidates. Depending on the experience
of the candidates, they may be placed into an apprenticeship program that will allow them to earn while
they learn. The program also has an online forum with mentors, who have served in the military, and
are now working in various unions who can provide guidance and support to participants.
The program is
a building trades initiative administered by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and
Veterans Employment and initially funded by the U.S. Army. The center is a not-for-profit trust
directed by a joint labor-management construction industry committee.
