Lansing Sun

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) awarded a grant that will provide 225 veterans with registered apprenticeships in the Michigan construction industry.

Helmets to Hardhats received the $250,000 grant to back the Michigan Construction Apprenticeship post-Military Opportunity (MiCAMO) Program, according to a news release by the Office of the Governor.

“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,” said Stephanie Beckhorn, director of LEO’s Office of Employment and Training, according to the release. “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.”

According to the release, the funds will allow training to assist in the transition to active duty and retired military service members, National Guard, reservists and veterans with registered apprenticeship avenues to high-paying construction jobs that are in demand.

“The MiCAMO Program offers active-duty and retired military veterans meaningful career opportunities in Michigan’s construction industry," Whitmer said, according to the 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 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 release states that registered apprenticeships are good career training programs where employers create and prep Michigan’s future workforce. The release says "Apprentices gain paid work experience, related classroom instruction and a national industry-recognized credential upon program completion. The programs help employers begin an immediate transfer of knowledge from current to future high-value workers. Workers get a paycheck from day one while they build the right skills in a new career."

“Veterans represent the best of the best that our workforce has to offer,” said Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Director Zaneta Adams, according to the 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.”

Helmets to Hardhats Executive Director Martin Helms looks forward to more than just connecting with more veterans.

“Having the support of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity gives Helmets to Hardhats the ability to not only reach more veterans, but change more lives,” Helms said, according to the 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. 

"Our outreach to military service members allows us to connect them to middle class, family-sustaining career opportunities," he added. "We cannot thank LEO enough for their commitment to our nation’s military veterans and the Helmets to Hardhats program."