Committee hears bill to expand Helmets to Hardhats veteran-to-trades program

Representative Tom Sexton introduced House File 1004 to the House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee on March 4, 2025, presenting a bipartisan bill that would support the Minnesota Helmets to Hardhats program and its work connecting veterans to construction and trade careers.

Why it matters: committee members and witnesses said the program helps transition veterans into stable, well-paid careers through registered apprenticeship pathways, potentially addressing both veteran unemployment and industry labor shortages.

Representative Sexton, who identified his House District as 19B and discussed his military and construction-industry background, said the bill has strong bipartisan support and 21 coauthors. He described Helmets to Hardhats as an organization that “leverages the very experienced workforce, our veterans, who just need some learn some new skill sets,” and thanked colleagues who previously carried the measure.

Steven Stengel, an Army National Guard veteran and current carpenters apprentice, told the committee that apprenticeship “is what I'm in now. I'm in my fourth year,” and said programs like Helmets to Hardhats “have helped a lot of my fellow brothers and sisters.” Justin Ross, director of the Minnesota Helmets to Hardhats program and a Marine veteran, described how the program brokers connections between service members and registered apprenticeship programs and training centers. Ross said registered apprenticeship “is the best way for these service members to go,” and provided the committee with program counts: 278 veterans signed up in 2024 to receive regional information and application assistance, and the state program has enrolled more than 1,500 service members since its start. Ross told lawmakers the program helped roughly 40–47 veterans in the most recent tracking period and that participants often start with wages in the $50,000–$60,000 range and can exceed $100,000 after completing apprenticeship.

Members of the committee offered support and sought technical and budgetary guidance. Representative Lee Pinto flagged a procedural question about whether the bill had been formally moved before the committee; the chair confirmed the bill would be laid over for possible inclusion. Representative Berg expressed appreciation for the program and said she would “always sign on to this bill.” Representative Pinto and others also encouraged the author and program to consider whether funding would be better structured as a competitive grant in a future budget process rather than a direct appropriation, to ensure broader oversight and access to multiple organizations or delivery partners.

Action taken: the committee laid House File 1004 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus budget; no final appropriation was adopted during this hearing.

Next steps: sponsors and the program will continue to work with committee members and budget staff on funding language and delivery options ahead of the upcoming budget negotiations.