Justin Rost Named Interim Director of Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota. Current Director, Joel Welter, Deployed Overseas for U.S. Army
SAINT PAUL, MN (March 2018) – Justin Rost has been named interim director of Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota, a St. Paul-based nonprofit that helps U.S. military veterans transition from military service to a trades career (boilermakers, plumbers, electricians, glaziers, elevator constructors, ironworkers, heavy equipment operators, welders, roofers, steel metal workers, pipefitters, etc.) in Minnesota’s construction industry.
Rost will serve as interim director while current director, Joel Welter, serves an active-duty deployment in Kuwait through the U.S. Army Reserves 728th Construction Management Team based out of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for approximately nine months. The deployment is Welter’s third since 2004. He previously served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A union sheet metal worker by trade (Sheetmetal Workers Union Local 10), Rost worked as an architectural sheet metal worker for seven years prior to joining Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota in October 2017. Rost served for four years in the United States Marine Corps, from 1999 to 2003, stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
“I joined Helmets to Hardhats because I believe the union construction trades are a great fit for military personnel,” says Rost. “I’m looking forward to helping other veterans, like me, who are looking for guidance in making the transition from their military service to civilian life.”
“In addition, the pay and benefits as a trades worker are great,” Rost adds, “and can provide a stable financial future that vets and their families need, especially those who may be unemployed or under employed.”
Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota is part of the Construction Careers Pathways Alliance (https://constructioncareers.org), a statewide initiative involving trade unions, Minnesota’s largest construction companies, nonprofit training organizations, Minnesota high schools and the State of Minnesota. Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota is funded through the Construction Careers Foundation, a Saint Paul-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering and developing construction career pathways for Minnesotans, especially young adults.
Working in tandem with the national office of Helmets to Hard Hats, the Construction Careers Foundation will build the Helmets to Hardhats Minnesota program, supported by a two-year grant totaling $400,000, approved during the 2017 session of the Minnesota Legislature, to recruit, retain, assist and support National Guard, reserve, and active duty military members’ and veterans’ participation in construction trades apprenticeship programs registered with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Over the last 14 years, Helmets to Hardhats, nationally, has assisted with more than 25,000 successful transitions of military vets throughout the United States. The nonprofit connects transitioning veterans to the best careers in the construction industry. Veterans received world-class apprenticeship training in the skilled trades from North America’s Building Trades Unions. No prior construction experience is needed.
To learn more about Helmets to Hardhats, visit www.constructioncareers.org or call the Minnesota office of Helmets to Hardhats, located in Saint Paul at 763-354-4546.
About Construction Careers Pathways
The Construction Careers Pathway (CCP) Alliance (https://constructioncareers.org) is part of a collaborative effort to provide year-round construction career exploration opportunities for Minnesota youth. The CCP Alliance provides work-based learning exposure starting in middle school and concluding with a career in the Minnesota construction industry. The CCP places special outreach emphasis on females and members of minority and immigrant groups who historically have been underrepresented in the construction industry.
To fulfill this effort the Construction Careers Foundation (CCF) has engaged in strategic partnerships, which include the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Building and Construction Trades Councils, Apprenticeship Coordinators Association of Minnesota, Construct Tomorrow and participating school districts. On behalf of this collaborative effort, CCF, comprised of contractors, their trade associations and labor representation, pursue and receive funding to support these collaborative efforts.
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Stephen Dupont
Pocket Hercules
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