Helmets to Hardhats is a national program that connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning active-duty military members with quality career training and employment opportunities within the construction industry. The program is administered by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment and headquartered in Washington, D.C. Direction for management of the center comes from a board of trustees comprised of equal numbers of employer and labor trustees.
Nationwide, unemployment among veterans is disproportionately high at 10.4 percent, more than double Chicago’s overall jobless rate of 4.7 percent. As of September 2007, Illinois had 9,720 service members deployed, of which only about 1,000 will return to jobs protected under federal law.
Despite the high unemployment rate, federal funding for Helmets to Hardhats was drastically cut in the FY07 federal budget by 80 percent, from $5.4 million to $990,000.
There are currently 845,481 veterans in Illinois and roughly 35,520 residing with Illinois 6th Congressional district. Congressman Roskam takes seriously his responsibility to ensure those brave men and women who have selflessly served our nation to protect our freedom are provided the best care and resources available to them when they return home.
To date, more than 39,000 jobs have been positioned nationally.
