Top 5 Trade Apprenticeship Programs for Veterans
As veterans return home from service and integrate themselves back into civilian population, many have difficulty finding employment. According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, a total of 495,000 veterans were unemployed in 2015. Of the Gulf War-era II veterans, individuals that served from September 2001 onwards, 5.8% were unemployed.
To help combat unemployment among veterans, organizations across the country have developed apprenticeship programs within the trades to educate veterans and help them establish their careers. These training programs range in length, are offered across the country, and focus on the welding, HVAC-R, electrical, plumbing, sprinkler fitting and machining, and finishing trades.
United Association Veterans in Piping
“To ease the transition back into civilian life, the United Association established the UA Veterans in Piping (VIP) Program to equip military service members preparing to leave the service with sought after skills that can lead to lifelong careers in the increasingly in-demand pipetrades.”
Trade Focus: HVAC-R, Welding, Sprinkler Fitting
Website: uavip.org
Telephone: 410.269.2000
Workshops® for Warriors
“Workshops for Warriors (WFW), is a State-licensed, board governed, fully audited, 501(c)(3) nonprofit school founded in 2008. The mission of Workshops for Warriors is to provide quality training, accredited STEM educational programs, and opportunities to earn third party nationally recognized credentials to enable veterans, transitioning service members, and other students to be successfully trained and placed in their chosen advanced manufacturing career field.”
Trade Focus: Welding, Machining
Website: workshopsforwarriors.org
Telephone: 619.550.1620
Troops to Trades
“Troops to Trades is a program of the Nexstar Legacy Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3), that provides scholarships and career contacts within the plumbing, heating/cooling and electrical residential services industries. It works with small to mid-sized businesses across the United Sates to help them locate potential employees, especially technical service employees.”
Trade Focus: Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical
Website: troopstotrades.org
Telephone: 651.789.3366
Painters and Allied Trades Veterans Program
“The mission of the Painters and Allied Trades Veterans Program is to assist transitioning veterans from military service to civilian careers in the finishing trades industry. The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) is dedicated to providing service men and women the tools necessary to be successful in a rewarding career in construction.”
Trade Focus: Finishing
Website: pat-vp.org
Telephone: 855.380.VETS
Helmets to Hardhats
“Helmets to Hardhats is a national, nonprofit program that connects National Guard, Reserve, retired and transitioning active-duty military service members with skilled training and quality career opportunities in the construction industry.”
Trade Focus: Electrical
Website: helmetstohardhats.org
Telephone: 866.741.6210
All this information is also available for download at Slideshare.net
Comments 2
Derek Bates
I am looking to become a lineman and am looking for a trade scho to get started
Aaron lal
Great list! Thanks for your efforts and writing you have done to compose the list. Keep up the good work.