Why Veterans in the Construction Industry Are Essential
Veterans play a powerful, but often underappreciated role in shaping the modern civilian workforce. These inspiring individuals bring a wealth of experience, mental fortitude, and passion to their work.
With an estimated 8.63 million veterans involved in every area of the civilian labor force, it is clear that this population holds a great deal of promise. That said, some industries and roles are especially well-suited to veterans, offering a seamless transition from military roles, along with a clear path to advancement.
Construction, in particular, can stand to benefit from veterans’ unique skills and knowledge. What’s more, this field has plenty to offer for our nation’s most inspiring individuals, including camaraderie, respect, and a path to professional fulfillment.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests this is a strong source of employment, with 12.8 percent of veterans working in “natural resources, construction, and maintenance” compared to just 8.8 percent of nonveterans in this field.
Veterans can bring powerful advantages to today’s most exciting construction projects. Keep reading to discover how veterans impact this field and how leadership in construction can expand the influence of these hardworking professionals.
Veterans in the Workplace: Their Value in Construction
Veterans have long played a valuable role in the workforce at large and especially in the construction industry. Their unique skill sets allow them to drive powerful outcomes as they contribute to important building projects and initiatives. To add, their influence continues to grow as the field seeks to address ongoing labor shortages, and this is especially true when it comes to their transition from military to civilian life.
Increasingly, construction managers and other leaders view veterans as among the most productive and innovative employees. Uniquely trainable and adaptable, these hardworking professionals boost organizational outcomes and can even help their coworkers develop critical skills and a productive mindset. For this reason, today’s forward-thinking construction managers are eager to draw on a passionate and productive veteran workforce that drives a powerful return on investment.
Skills and Traits That Make Veterans Assets
Veterans in construction bring a wealth of valuable skills and qualities to the table, allowing them to make impressive professional contributions. These qualities range from technical acumen to soft skills and beyond. Often, it is not any one skill that stands out on its own, but rather, the unique blend of attributes that veterans possess. Examples of sought-after traits include:
Leadership and Teamwork
It would be an understatement to claim that teamwork is heavily built into the military experience. As members of close-knit units that build an exceptional degree of trust, service members know what it takes to form a strong, high-performing team. They develop collaborative skills during intense training exercises and of course, while deployed. These skills allow them to continue working effectively with others as they join the civilian workforce.
Leadership skills are also abundant among veterans, who, no matter their rank, are expected to provide a wealth of inspiration and support for their peers. These skills are heavily emphasized in military leadership courses and academies. Mentorship and cross-training also provide powerful exposure to leadership concepts.
As such, many veterans enter the civilian workforce with a nuanced understanding of leadership styles and strategies, even if they have never technically obtained targeted management experience. Their nuanced understanding of leadership quickly becomes evident, allowing many veterans to promptly climb the construction career ladder and move into exciting management roles.
Discipline and Work Ethic
Work ethic is central to military training, and it shows. Employers cite discipline as among the most admirable qualities among veteran employees, who can be consistently expected to give it their all, no matter which tasks they tackle. This is hugely important in the construction industry, where employers prize a blend of passion and perseverance known as grit.
Problem-Solving and Adaptability
Problem-solving is one of the most in-demand skills across the full spectrum of the modern workforce and veterans tend to have this in spades. These competencies are thoroughly developed via military training, with service members encouraged to take part in problem-solving simulations and other activities that promote critical thinking and split-second decision-making.
Veterans are also highly adaptable, and this plays heavily into their problem-solving abilities. Through diverse simulations, plus real-world exposure to a wide range of settings and situations, service members learn to navigate dynamic and ever-changing military environments. By comparison, the average construction project may actually seem straightforward, so veterans are prepared to handle change management scenarios.
Technical Skills and Trainability
Through in-depth military training, service members develop a wide range of highly technical skills that continue to serve them well as they enter demanding fields such as construction. For example, many are tasked with maintaining and repairing complex equipment. This understanding can make it easier to gain confidence with construction equipment, including material handling, earthmoving, and even demolition tools.
Increasingly, many service members also gain extensive exposure to information technology (IT) solutions and intelligence data. Familiarity with data analytics could particularly prove transformative as industry advancements seek to make greater use of data-driven strategies.
Although additional training may be needed to leverage construction-oriented solutions, today’s veterans are quick to master advanced technical concepts, and therefore, are highly trainable. Just as important, many veterans are eager to embrace new concepts and technologies, especially if they help fulfill civilian work responsibilities more effectively.
Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life
While veterans are well-equipped to thrive in construction and in the workforce in general, they may need to adjust their communication style as they adapt to civilian life. Through small changes in vocabulary and tone, veterans can convey their expertise while building rapport with their coworkers.
Beyond this, veterans may need to adjust to different styles of work. Their exceptional work ethic will certainly prove advantageous, but there may be a slight learning curve as they encounter employees with different approaches.
The construction industry can help alleviate these concerns by providing a welcoming and driven environment in which veterans are accepted or, better yet, embraced. Close-knit professional teams foster a culture of camaraderie, which veterans find highly appealing.
Meanwhile, the tangible results of a completed construction project can feel personally gratifying, reminding veteran employees that their efforts in the civilian workforce truly make a difference.
Veterans as Leaders in Construction
With the right education or a few years of experience in entry-level roles, veterans in construction can take on compelling leadership opportunities, including these key positions:
- Safety officer. Responsible for identifying hazards, developing safety policies, and educating employees about safety measures, construction safety officers help protect both workers and the public. Veterans are well-suited to this role, for, as service members, they will have taken part in extensive safety training and will have also developed a strong team mentality.
- Quality control specialist. Tasked with monitoring construction processes to confirm exceptional workmanship and compliance, quality control specialists help develop and implement procedures to promote consistency and accuracy through every phase of every project. Detail-oriented veterans take their work in quality control seriously and will go to extensive efforts to prevent and mitigate construction risks.
- Site supervisor. On the front lines of day-to-day construction operations, site supervisors coordinate with subcontractors and suppliers to ensure seamless workflows while also maintaining high quality standards and a safe work environment. This represents a natural step up for entry-level veteran employees, who can draw on their military leadership experience to help them thrive in this type of environment.
- Construction project manager. Encompassing project planning, resource allocation, and budget management, construction project management is a compelling role that appeals to those with extensive experience in both the construction industry and as leaders. Because change management is a core part of this role, and because veterans are highly adaptable, this can be a great step up the career ladder for veterans in construction.
Building a Strong Workforce: How the Construction Industry Can Support Veterans
Many promising initiatives strive to attract veterans in construction while also helping currently employed veterans advance in their careers. These programs aim to address skill gaps while also making it easier for veterans to transition from military to civilian life. Options worth implementing include:
- Partner with veteran service organizations. Recruitment is a key challenge for many construction-centric employers, but organizations can leverage resources from many organizations and agencies. Among the most helpful? Veteran service organizations and nonprofits, which may provide job training, mentorship, or connections with employers. Examples include Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Operation: Job Ready Veterans (OJRV).
- Job training. Although veterans bring valuable skills to the workforce, they may need specialized training to ensure that they are prepared to handle complex construction responsibilities. Apprenticeships are valuable as these provide practical training and help veterans develop critical skills in a realistic work environment. Veterans may also benefit from graduate-level degree programs, which equip them with the crucial budgetary or resource allocation skills needed to thrive in construction management.
- Create a supportive work environment. Strong hiring and training initiatives get the veteran employee lifecycle off to a great start, but retention is also important. To ensure that veterans stick around, employers must make every effort to promote a supportive work environment, in which veterans feel valued and appreciated.
Build a Stronger Workforce With a Construction Management Degree
If you want to advance your career so that you can help veterans in construction also advance, look to Texas A&M for guidance and support. TAMU’s online Master of Science in Construction Management provides a solid path to career advancement within the construction industry, so don’t hesitate to reach out and learn more.
