Opportunities for veterans are abundant in skilled trades

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

America has a trade career problem — not enough qualified workers to fill jobs, and fewer and fewer young people over the years seem inspired to enter the field.

A report from The Hill in April revealed some of the alarming numbers:

• 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled if the employment gap isn’t filled.
• Bloomberg reported that the U.S. is projecting to be 550,000 plumbers short by 2027.
• According to the National Electric Contractors Association, nearly 30% of union electricians are nearing retirement.
• Aging workers are preparing to retire in careers such as construction and auto technicians.

The hiring atmosphere for positions in the skilled trades screams of opportunities for transitioning veterans looking to establish a career after separating from the military. Universal Technical Institute , a technical school that supports about 23,000 students across two divisions, including Concorde Career Colleges, and 33 campuses, is among the trade schools in the country welcoming veterans with open arms for the expanding number of opportunities available.

For veterans looking to continue or start their post-military education, the trades are an appealing option. Not only are tradespeople able to learn on the job without facing the skyrocketing costs of college tuition, trades candidates are in high demand and veterans can find great success seeking employment in them. Many of the available positions in the civilian world are duties that service members gained experience doing in the military.

“There are a lot of trades in the military, like diesel mechanics, avionics technicians, welders. Our clients have transferable skills,” says John Decouteau, VP of military admissions with UTI and also a military veteran. “When those folks come here, we evaluate their joint service transcripts, their training in the military, check their ability to test out and place them maybe in a one-year program. We help them get the civilian certifications or credentials and help them whenever possible.”

Military veterans and reservists make up about 25% of the student body for UTI, which has unique programs that they tailor to the needs of the students.

“After they enroll, we sit down and ask them, ‘What made you pick up the phone, what are you interested in and can we be what you’re looking for?’” said Julie Mueller, president of UTI’s campus in Austin, Texas. “We want to understand what their goals and motivations are, and we want to help them overcome any obstacles that they may have.”

Veterans can look to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill and vocational rehabilitation to help provide financial assistance to attend trade schools. But another luxury of the trades are the number of businesses willing to pay for students’ education to learn a trade and also serve as apprentices before getting hired full-time.

“We have more than 4,000 employers that will pay anywhere from $500 to their entire tuition for them to come work for them,” DeCouteau said. “We recently had an email from a company that said they would pay $30,000 to help with scholarships.”

Mueller said her institution’s most popular programs are its auto and diesel technician programs. They are separate programs, but many students take both to increase their marketability. Welding and HVAC/refrigeration programs are also popular with veterans. The school offers rolling enrollment options with classes lasting three weeks in length. Once one class is completed, another one starts.

“We can start students every three weeks and graduate a cohort into the industries every three weeks,” Mueller said. “Everything we do is set up to serve the industries’ needs.”

While veterans don’t often classify under the title of “traditional students,” Mueller said military members typically leave as some of the best students on campus.

“They know what it takes to be successful here, and they’re not only great on classwork but on professionalism,” Mueller said. “We have strict rules, where if you’re late to class, you’re getting an infraction, so veterans really understand that commitment. We have dress codes, follow safety guidelines and have to do online work every day. It’s a commitment.”