Construction Makes Its Pledge: 100,000 Hired Vets By 2019

Construction Makes Its Pledge: 100,000 Hired Vets By 2019

More than 100 construction companies have agreed to join the White House’s Join Forces Initiative, pledging to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years.


The construction industry will gain 1.6 million jobs by 2022, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, and in position to contribute to the initiative, which spotlights the need to support veterans across all sectors of business and industry.

Said Larry L. Melton of Bechtel Corporation, one of the construction companies that are part of the pledge, “Veterans are invaluable to the construction industry. Men and women who serve in the military often have the traits that are so critical to our success: agility, discipline, integrity, and the drive to get the job done right.”

First Lady Michelle Obama wrote about the commitment in an op-ed in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, saying, “By hiring veterans, businesses won’t just be giving American heroes the chances they deserve to keep serving our country. And they won’t just be giving veterans’ families the security that comes with a steady paycheck. These businesses will also be ensuring that they have the qualified employees they need to keep growing and creating new jobs and strengthening our economy for decades to come. And they will be sending a clear message that we honor those who’ve sacrificed for us, and are determined to serve them as well as they have served our country. America’s veterans deserve no less.”