Cottage Grove tower repair company becomes first to use GI Bill funds to train veterans | Economic news

Having learned from his military past, Rivera also quickly adapts to new circumstances and finds camaraderie among those he works with. It’s necessary, the veteran said, for the position he’s training for at Cottage Grove. MRL tower it forces him to reach new heights – literally.

The construction and maintenance company for the tower site, which has become the first, approved by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, to use GI Bill funds to supplement the apprenticeships of skilled workers like Rivera, said Tower MRL President Chris Mallon. Founded in 2005, the company has about 80 employees – including three veterans – with 30 people climbing towers.

The GI Bill, the first version of which emerged in 1944 after World War II, is best known for helping those who served in the military pay for tuition and other education.

The approval comes as Tower MRL has sought to attract more workers amid a talent shortage that has not spared any industry, Mallon said. It also comes as veterans, a minority group, have faced disparate unemployment rates amid the health crisis.

But those numbers seem to be improving. Last month, the national unemployment rate for veterans was 2.4%, down from 3.1% in February – and 4.8% in 2021, according to data from the US Department of Labor.

Rivera trains himself to be a tower worker – he travels across the United States for weeks climbing structures and making sure everything is working properly. But he soon plans to pursue an almost two-year apprenticeship program through Tower MRL which is partially covered by the funds – perhaps becoming a foreman or project manager to help the business grow.

Tower MRL has been a sponsoring employer (one of 67 nationally) for the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program for several years ProgramMallon explained, adding that the DOL-registered and Wireless Infrastructure Association-The supported program enables its graduates to receive industry-specific training and credentials to find jobs.

It was through TIRAP that Tower MRL recently discovered how the GI Bill could help the company find and retain talent, he said.

“What a lot of people might not know (about the bill) is that it can fund more four-year college programs,” said Brett Weil, vice president of development for the WIA workforce.

How it will work when officially rolled out for veterans in training, Mallon explained, is that they will receive a fixed salary for the duration of their apprenticeship. While an intern would normally start at an hourly rate of $18, the bill allows that salary to increase to $25. This difference can cover various training-related costs, such as books and even housing.

Saul Newton, founder of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce since 2015, said more companies like Tower MRL should embrace the skills that those who have served in the military can bring to the workplace.

But the bigger issue for employers is how to translate the skills veterans bring, Newton said, which can lead to a “loss of economic stability” for the minority group.

“It’s really smart for employers who see the GI Bill as a way to soften that blow,” he said.

The House itself recently unveiled a program, called VetWorks Wisconsin, with the state Department of Veterans Affairs and Wisconsin Veterans Networka non-profit organization, to help active duty military service members transition out of role and into communities across the state.

The program provides assistance with employment, education, housing, legal services, medical care and more, Newton said.

“There’s no simple solution,” he said of addressing veterans’ employment issues globally.

For Rivera, who has children, the opportunity to advance her career at Tower MRL has been life changing.

After military deployments to various countries, including Iraq, in the early 2010s, spending some time in college with no return on investment and after “bouncing from job to job” – “From one somehow I got my spine back.”