UA VIP Partners Strengthen Apprenticeship Pathways for Service Members

Over the past six months, the Center for Military and Veterans Services has worked alongside building trades unions, federal agencies and veteran organizations to strengthen access to Registered Apprenticeship Programs for active-duty transitioning service members. This collaboration reached a milestone on Aug. 28, when the Center joined building trades partners at The American Legion's Task Force Movement (TFM) Convening.

This ongoing work directly supports programs such as the United Association’s Veterans in Piping (VIP) program, a DoW SkillBridge initiative that helps transitioning active-duty service members move into guaranteed careers in the pipe trades. The stronger these partnerships become, the more veterans gain a clear, supported path from military service to building trades apprenticeships, including with the United Association.

Bringing Federal Leaders to the Table

In February, the Center for Military and Veterans Services participated in the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) Union Apprenticeships Roundtable. UA VIP took part as well, represented by Micheal Hazard, UA Veterans in Piping Program Manager. The gathering brought together leaders from labor organizations, federal agencies and veteran-serving institutions to focus on one goal: improving access to Registered Apprenticeship Programs for transitioning active-duty service members and veterans.

Conversations like these help ensure that programs designed for either active-duty transitioning service members or veterans, including UA VIP, remain connected to the federal resources and support systems that enable a smooth transition.

Helping Veterans Stay the Course

Getting into a Registered Apprenticeship Program is only the first step.

Working with building trades partners, the Center examined the barriers veterans can face once they have started a program and discussed practical solutions to help more veterans persist, advance, and ultimately complete their apprenticeship training.

That focus on completion echoes what UA VIP graduates already experience firsthand: guaranteed job placement and direct entry into a Registered Apprenticeship Program that uses the Earn While You Learn model, so participants can build a career without taking on student debt or using their GI Bill benefits.

Strengthening the Defense Industrial Base

In August, the Center joined The American Legion's TFM Convening, focused on strengthening the skilled workforce that supports the nation's Defense Industrial Base. There, the Center elevated the importance of apprenticeship completion and identified new opportunities for collaboration with building trades unions to help more veterans reach journeyman status.

The stronger the pipeline between military service and the building trades, the more service members have access to good-paying, in-demand careers when they transition out.

A Shared Commitment to the Next Generation

This Labor Day was a reminder that America’s infrastructure, industries and communities have always depended on skilled workers, and veterans have long been part of that workforce. Through continued collaboration with organized labor, the next generation of veterans will have the opportunity not just to enter the building trades but to build lasting careers that support their families and strengthen their communities.

Programs such as UA VIP are a direct result of this kind of partnership. For more than a decade, UA VIP has helped transitioning active-duty service members prepare for good-paying, in-demand civilian careers in the pipe trades, with guaranteed job placement and direct entry into a UA Registered Apprenticeship Program.