CIS Helps Clear a Construction Career Path for Returning Military
Crane Industry Services is working with staffing company AEG to help returning members of the military become job-ready in the construction trades as they transition back into the civilian workforce. The Department of Defense program is called SkillBridge. AEG pairs the individuals to partnering employers, while CIS evaluates their military credentials and trains them for a construction career.
SkillBridge is an opportunity for separating service members to plan their lives after the military. The program matches civilian opportunities to their job training and work experience at the end of their military duty. It allows service members to enhance their marketability and post-separation career prospects.
“What’s great about the program is it offers any service member a paying job while he or she gets back into civilian life,” explains Ray Rice, CIS business development manager. “These young people many times come home with construction-related skills, but they aren’t sure about career opportunities open to them. They’ve spent four, five, or even eight years doing a lot of construction on bases, setting foundations and repairing airfields. They’ve got the skills, and they know the equipment. For the construction industry it’s almost a perfect match.”
AEG connects service personnel to prospective, viable careers with quality employers who are likely to hire the individual, at industry rates or better, after the on-the-job training is completed. CIS trains and provides certification testing for skilled work, supervision, and safety as required by the industries served. The certifications are NCCER-accredited, OSHA-recognized, and can lead successful candidates to documented journey-level qualification in more than 80 skill and leadership areas.
Participants may use up to their last six months of service to work and learn with an industry partner. They continue receiving a military paycheck and benefits at zero cost to the industry partner. The job is offered at no cost to the service member for work or safety gear. It creates a path to a job-interview referral and post-service employment.
In a time when the construction industry is experiencing a worker shortage and is in great need of skilled labor, that almost-perfect match becomes perfect with value-added training from CIS, says Rice, noting that the company has quite a few retired vets on staff. “We love the military. With our deep knowledge of the construction trades, we’re able to help guide these returning veterans and make their career transition a lot simpler.”
