...were once typically top of the line," he says. But programs and funding haven’t kept pace over the years, Silins says. Now, there are efforts to rebuild veterans’ programs.

In July, President George W. Bush’s 14-member National Hire Veterans Committee will kick off its multiyear campaign to promote the hiring of veterans. The carpenters’ Silins is a panel member along with representatives from government and a variety of industries.

But H2H is designed specifically for construction, and some large contractors have embraced it. At least four project labor agreements have been negotiated requiring H2H to fill positions on a preferential basis. BCTD plans to include H2H in all future PLAs.

Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons Corp. has a $14.2-billion PLA with the Los Angeles Unified School District for a multiyear school construction and renovation program. The company started recruiting through H2H at the beginning of the year and it is starting to place the first workers. "We’re seeing an opportunity we never saw before," says Michael W. D’Antuono, president of Parsons Constructors Inc. Under the program, which runs through 2012, 160 schools will be built or remodeled (ENR 4/7/03 p. 32).

SKILLS TEST Civilian craft training builds on the experience and work ethic that veterans learned during their time in the service. (Photos courtesy of Helmets to Hardhats)

The agreement calls for a 50% local worker participation. To reach that goal, the school district launched its "We Build" program–an eight-week pre-apprenticeship program. H2H is now a part of that program, and it’s a good thing. The school district was exhausting its pool of contractors and workers, so recruiting from the military serves a dual purpose, says James A. McConnell, chief facilities executive of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Helmets to Hardhats Key Metrics for 1st Quarter 2004
	Calendar Year 2003   VS	First Quarter Percent	Percent Increase
Website visitors	78,312	62,568	220%
Candidate registrations	16,878	12,342	192%
Union Local registrations	689	345	100%
Employer registrations	109	125	359%
Placement	3,221	1,817	126%
Source: Helmets to Hardhats quarterly report, April 30, 2004

San Francisco-based Bechtel has written in all of its PLAs that it will utilize H2H personnel, including the expansion Tucson, Arizona’s, $939-million, 400-MW Springerville coal-fired powerplant. Bechtel’s PLA guarantees it "will expend every effort to ensure that up to 10% of all non-journeymen dispatched to the Springerville Expansion Project from each signatory union will be military or veterans under the H2H program."

There is also assistance for engineers leaving the military. Ed Gibson, who served in the Navy and the Army, as well as a stint as Chief of Military Personnel at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, uses his vast network on a pro bono basis to help engineers find jobs. "They never would have heard about the job opening or the company without a personal recommendation or knowing someone," he says. Gibson claims to have helped about 125 engineers annually.

H2H will come full circle next year. The second part of the program, called Hardhats to Helmets, will encourage construction companies and unions to urge their employees to join the National Guard.