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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