Military medal with the words Veterans Spotlight

mouse arrow pointing at a bookSupport Services & Resources for Veterans

Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS)

  • Resources for Veterans seeking apprenticeship programs are available on the VETS’ “Find a Job” webpage.
  • VETS’ Transition Assistance Program (TAP) “provides information, tools, and training to ensure service members and their spouses are prepared for the next step in civilian life.”
  • An Employment Navigator can help Veterans find apprenticeships, conducting assessments to help identify a person’s ideal career path.

Department of Veterans Affairs

  • The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs helps service members and Veterans with service-connected disabilities explore employment opportunities and address education or training needs. Learn more about “Veterans Readiness and Employment.”
  • Veterans who participate in VA-certified apprenticeship programs can use GI Benefits toward tuition, housing, books, supplies, and fees. Learn more about GI Bill benefits for apprentices.

“Many Veterans have learned what it means to put in a hard day’s work. They have also come to appreciate the challenges and satisfaction of a job well done. Much of this experience can translate to their participation in the workforce making the Veteran an asset on the job.”
– U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

McCarthy & Adaptive Construction Solutions logos

Featured Program

McCarthy and Adaptive Construction Services (ACS)

Through an apprenticeship program led by McCarthy and Adaptive Construction Services (ACS), approximately 50 Veteran apprentices aided in the construction of a solar project or completed training on-the-job training related to the project. As reported in Solar Power World, according to the President of ACS, “The apprenticeships at Elm Branch provided Veterans with an opportunity to gain skills needed to confidently work and contribute to a team, along with industry-recognized credentials that can translate into lasting careers.”

Opportunities for Veterans

General Resources

  • The web portal at Apprenticeship.gov provides a resource webpage with information on apprenticeships for active service members and Veterans at various stages of their transition into the workplace.
  • Review the resources below to learn about specific programs in HGHD sectors including, clean energy, IT, finance, and healthcare.

Clean Energy

  • Learn more about the growing array of apprenticeship programs in the clean energy industry, including in renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, etc.).
  • North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T) is an HBCU (historically black college or university) with a rapidly expanding pre-apprenticeship program for clean energy; it offers professional training in the solar and wind installation industries.
  • Solar Ready Vets connects transitioning members of the armed forces and Veterans with on-the-job (OJT) training for careers in the solar industry, including OJT through apprenticeships.
  • Troops to Energy Jobs provides Veterans with a roadmap for entry into highly skilled utility, construction, and engineering occupations within the energy industry.
  • Approved by the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program, the job training program at Air Streams Renewables supports careers in wind energy for active duty transitioning service members. Honorably discharged Veterans and civilians can also participate in this program.
  • In 2022, Florida created the state’s first recognized Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in the solar industry, which can open doors to solar occupations for Veterans, including those with disabilities. Read,“New Florida milestone highlights the value of apprenticeships for the solar industry” to learn more about the RAP.
  • The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have been working to develop new apprenticeship options for the solar industry through the U.S. Department of Energy funded Solar Ready Veterans Network. If you are an employer looking to get involved, you can connect with IREC and SEIA to help them develop new standards for apprenticeships in solar occupations. Learn more about their work.

Information Technology (IT)

  • Veterans who are interested in pursuing careers in IT and related fields, such as cybersecurity, can explore a wide range of apprenticeship programs; they can find IT-focused programs on Apprenticeship.gov.
  • Women in Cybersecurity (WiCYS), a DOL-Certified Apprenticeship Program, supports female Veterans within the WiCyS community as they transition from the armed forces into cybersecurity careers.
  • Security University partners with employers offering apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity and actively recruits Veterans.
  • PIA’s partner, Apprenti, actively recruits Veterans, people with disabilities, women, and people of color to its technology apprenticeship program.
  • The Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program run by Cybersecurity Center for Business, which is also a PIA partner, trains Wisconsin residents to enter the cybersecurity field.

Finance

  • Veterans interested in careers in finance can pursue a variety of apprenticeship programs; search for apprenticeship programs in finance at Apprenticeship.gov.
  • Wells Fargo participates in the U.S. Department of Labor’s work on apprenticeship development in banking and finance and leads an apprenticeship program that trains Veterans.

Healthcare