How Veterans Can Fill the Manufacturing Labor Gap

Before starting work at Hino Motors Manufacturing USA's facility in Arkansas in March 2023, U.S. Army veteran Jakob Lejman had never set foot in a production facility.

After earning his bachelor's degree from the Virginia Military Institute, Lejman worked in logistics throughout his eight-year Army career. Most recently serving as a battalion-level operations officer, he oversaw hundreds of soldiers working in various logistics-related specialties such as supply, fuel, and distribution.

As his service end date approached late last year, Lejman said he entered "desperation mode," dreading the challenge of finding a job as a civilian.

"I was used to managing the operations of a large logistics-focused organization, but I really didn't know what that job title translated to in the civilian world," he said in an interview with Manufacturing Dive.

Around that time, veteran recruiting firms Bradley-Morris and RecruitMilitary reached out to soldiers stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana, where Lejman was based. The two agencies offered to help him build a profile and match the skills he learned and used in the military with civilian sector positions.

Lejman worked with Marine Corps veteran Justin Henderson, senior vice president of sales at RecruitMilitary, on his job search. By the time Lejman retired from the Army in March, he had secured the position of assistant manager of production control at Hino, a Toyota subsidiary and supplier.

Lejman's entry into Hino Motors Manufacturing is one of many cases showing that veterans can succeed in manufacturing careers. After all, industry leaders say companies are looking for skilled and trainable workers who can solve problems, lead or work in teams, and understand safety culture—qualities many veterans already possess.

"When Hino gave me the opportunity, what they got was someone with zero experience inside a manufacturing facility," Lejman said. "They took a risk on me as a leader and said: 'We can give you the knowledge and skills you need to lead in manufacturing, but you first have to be a leader.'"

How military roles align with manufacturing careers

Amy Thomas, national director of military and veteran programs for the Manufacturing Institute's "Heroes MAKE America" program, said veterans are almost uniquely qualified for manufacturing jobs.

"If you look at safety, maintenance, communications, logistics, these are specialists who come out of the military with these qualifications learned in the service," Thomas said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 200,000 service members transition out of the military each year. According to federal data, more than 6 million veterans hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and another 6 million have some college education or an associate degree.

However, despite roughly 627,000 open manufacturing jobs as of September—many of which companies say are hard to fill—a 2017 report by the Call of Duty Endowment and Zip Recruiter found that nearly one-third of veterans are underemployed, or working in jobs that don't match their experience level.

Henderson said that in addition to traditional educational qualifications, hundreds of thousands of veterans in the workforce also have technical backgrounds due to their military experience.

"The military is kind of like a leading trade school," said Marine Corps veteran Justin Henderson, senior vice president of sales at RecruitMilitary, adding that this skill set is leading more manufacturing companies to seek partnerships with veteran-focused recruiting firms.

Additionally, Thomas said, veterans are trainable, possess leadership skills, remain calm under pressure, often work in multicultural environments due to deployments or overseas living, and know how to work with different personalities.

"So when you look at all those skills and then you look at what manufacturing is looking for on the production floor—production supervisors, supervisory leadership, quality inspectors, safety, engineering, maintenance—they're almost uniquely aligned," Thomas said.

Veterans face hiring barriers

Despite being highly trained, veterans often face issues translating military skills to the civilian corporate sector.

For many, the first hurdle is automated resume screening. "If they don't have specific keywords in their resume, it gets kicked out and they don't even get past that part of the application process," Thomas said.

Henderson said manufacturers can also struggle to bring in veterans if there are no veterans or military-affiliated people—such as children or spouses of service members—in the company's human resources department.

Part of Henderson's job, therefore, is talking to companies daily to break down preconceived notions about veterans and the value of specific military experience. A veteran's resume might include terms like "enlisted" or "officer," as well as ranks like E3 or E6, which signal uniquely valuable skills and experience that non-military people may struggle to understand.

"Hollywood hasn't done us any favors. We're not all Navy SEALs. We're not all door-kickers. We're not all Delta Force," Henderson said. "We're administrators. We're drivers. It can range from introducing the company to the community through job fairs, to direct recruiting, to developing an overall strategy for how to bring the company brand into the veteran community."

"When you look at all those skills and then you look at what manufacturing is looking for on the production floor... they're almost uniquely aligned."

Amy Thomas
National director of military and veteran programs for the Manufacturing Institute's "Heroes MAKE America" program

On the other hand, veterans may also lack awareness of available manufacturing jobs and which companies are hiring—but manufacturing companies and their partners can bridge that gap.

"What I love about manufacturing is that it offers a sense of security that not all industries have," Henderson said. He mentioned RecruitMilitary's long-time client Bridgestone as an example, saying people may not always buy a car, but they always need tires, which in turn leads to stable manufacturing jobs.

To help bridge the awareness gap among veterans, Thomas said Heroes MAKE America has program managers at four U.S. Army installations in Kansas, Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia who can discuss manufacturing careers with veterans, active-duty service members, or military-affiliated individuals.

They also offer training and certification programs, including weekly tours of manufacturing facilities to show how specific companies operate and what they produce.

"We work very hard through the Heroes program to raise awareness and perception of these careers, because a lot of times (workers) will think, 'Oh, I'm going to work on a production line, like Laverne and Shirley,'" Thomas said. "But manufacturing has changed so much in the last 10 years, and I think bringing them into these plants, they say, 'Oh my gosh, I had no idea.' It's really eye-opening."

For Lejman, working with a recruiting firm and better understanding manufacturing roles was crucial to his transition to civilian work. He also said veterans should look at their resumes, highlight their standout skills, and not sell themselves short.

"You have proven leaders with skill sets that adapt to more complex situations," Lejman said. "You just need to find a way to get (veterans) in the door, and make that door feel like it's welcoming them in."