Page 14 - Helmet To Hardhats
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Through their years of service to the country, Armed Forces veterans develop valuable
                                                                                                                 expertise — leadership abilities, teamwork, communication skills and a strong work
                 An aerial view of the massive Hebron oil platform taking shape off the coast of Newfoundland    ethic — skills which are in high demand within the civilian workforce. (Photo Credit -
                   H2H aims to stream veterans into rewarding jobs on major construction projects like this.                            Canadian Armed Forces)



        garnering support, and obtaining funding. Help          cancelled, but questions that are asked a lot in the

        came from the federal government, and the               seminars have been posted on helmetstohardhats.
        governments of Ontario and Alberta, each of             ca instead, along with answers.

        whom provided $150,000 in seed money. The

        Government of New Brunswick provided $50,000.           “When COVID came in, the construction industry
        Other supporters also made contributions, such as       got shut down. That certainly raised a major concern

        TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Pipelines), which       with us,” Maloney says. “Now the construction
        contributed $1 million.                                 industry is pretty well back up and running, so we’re

        As much as this funding helped get the program          back in operation pretty good.”

        up and running, “we had to look for long-term
        sustainable funding to keep the program going           PEOPLE POWER BEHIND

        on an annual basis,” Maloney says. “That’s where        THE ORGANIZATION
        the unions started kicking in a penny per hour

        in construction agreements, so that’s where the         To date, and based on veterans who have reported

        primary funding comes now.”                             back to the organization, Helmets to Hardhats has
                                                                placed just over 1,000 veterans in construction

        More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has                industry opportunities. “On average, we place a

        presented a problem. In-person seminars had to be       veteran in a construction industry opportunity every


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