Recognition lists rank employers, but the programs behind them do the work that earns the ranking. When Forbes published America’s Best Employers for Veterans in 2022, paint, coating, and specialty materials provider PPG appeared at No. 72 among the top 200 U.S. companies. The list rests on independent surveys of roughly 7,000 U.S. veterans working part time or full time for companies employing at least 1,000 people in the country. For construction and building material employers, that ranking offers a working definition of a veteran-friendly workplace: clear hiring pathways, visible support networks, and policies that hold up under scrutiny. Workforce rules carry legal risks and best practices that human resources teams weigh before rollout, and the same care applies to veteran programs touching pay, leave, and accommodation.
Where Veteran Talent Meets Housing-Driven Demand
Construction ranks among the largest civilian employers of veterans in the United States. Military experience maps directly onto trade work: project management, equipment operation, safety compliance, and crew leadership all have service equivalents. Demand for that talent follows housing markets, because residential building and renovation employ a large share of the industry’s workforce. Older housing stock creates steady repair and restoration work, and regions with deep building history keep crews busy year-round. In the Northeast, the best preserved old-house neighborhoods generate continuous demand for carpenters, masons, roofers, and electricians who understand century-old construction methods.
Sectors With the Strongest Veteran Representation
Veterans work across every construction sector, but employment concentrates in a few places:
- Residential framing and finish carpentry, where crew leadership experience transfers directly
- Commercial and industrial maintenance, where safety training and shift discipline matter
- Heavy civil work, including road, bridge, and utility projects that run on tight schedules
- Building materials manufacturing, where process roles reward reliability and mechanical aptitude
Why Housing Age Shapes Hiring
A region’s housing age predicts its renovation workload. Homes built before 1950 need different skills than new construction, including plaster repair, historic window restoration, and structural reinforcement. Employers who staff these markets hire veterans who can learn specialized techniques quickly, and the work stays local because the buildings cannot move.
What Recognition Surveys Actually Measure
The Forbes methodology separates opinion from reputation. Survey respondents rate their willingness to recommend their employer to friends and family, then score statements tied to atmosphere and development, image, working conditions, salary and wage, workplace, and diversity. A separate set of questions covers topics specific to veterans in the workplace, from transition support to recognition of military service. That structure explains why some employers with large veteran populations rank below smaller ones: the scores reflect employee experience, not headcount.
| Survey dimension | What it captures |
|---|---|
| Atmosphere and development | Morale, training, and promotion opportunities |
| Image | Public reputation and pride in the company |
| Working conditions | Hours, physical environment, and scheduling flexibility |
| Salary and wage | Pay competitiveness and benefits |
| Workplace | Management quality and day-to-day collaboration |
| Veteran-specific topics | Transition support, military leave, and peer networks |
Recognition Extends Beyond Employer Lists
Workplace recognition has a project-level counterpart. Construction teams earn their own public credit through safety performance and award programs, and those honors shape recruiting as much as corporate rankings do. ENR Mid-Atlantic singled out a Brunswick County power station for excellence in safety, a distinction that tells job seekers the site runs to a high standard. Veterans who spent their service careers around strict safety protocols read those signals closely when choosing an employer.
What Veterans Say About the Workplace
Veterans weigh the same factors as other employees, then add service-specific concerns: whether military experience is respected, whether military leave is handled cleanly, and whether peer networks exist. Employers that score well on those questions treat veteran programs as operational commitments rather than annual events.
Hiring Programs That Bridge Military and Civilian Work
The most effective veteran hiring programs start before the first day on the job. PPG partners with SkillBridge, a Department of Defense program that gives service members real-world job experience during their last 180 days of military service. Participants work in civilian roles while still on active duty, which removes the risk of a hard transition. The company reports employing hundreds of veterans across North America, and the program feeds that pipeline directly.
How a Transition Program Works
- Identify service members in their final six months of duty who qualify for SkillBridge participation
- Match each candidate to a business unit where military skills translate to a civilian role
- Run the 180-day experience with a supervisor mentor and a defined project scope
- Convert successful participants to permanent roles before separation
- Track retention at the 12-month and 24-month marks to measure program health
Transition programs also depend on where candidates want to live. Housing costs influence relocation decisions, and markets with affordable older homes attract entry-level workers. The best small towns for historic house lovers combine older housing stock with lower living costs, which makes them practical targets for employers recruiting veterans into residential trades.
Employee Resource Groups and Peer Support Networks
A hiring program gets veterans in the door; an employee resource group keeps them there. PPG’s Veterans Employee Resource Network has more than 350 employee members and holds monthly meetings about veteran and veteran family experiences, plus semi-annual programming open to all employees. The group covers mentoring, community outreach, career development, and cultural awareness, and it gives members a platform to demonstrate what they know.
What a Veteran Employee Resource Group Does
- Monthly meetings on topics like family separation, benefits navigation, and career mobility
- Semi-annual education sessions that teach non-veteran employees about military life
- Mentoring pairs that connect new hires with employees who served
- Community outreach that puts the group’s skills to use outside the office
- Leadership visibility through an executive sponsor and co-chair structure
Housing Affordability and Retention
Retention conversations often turn on housing. A group that helps members compare neighborhoods, understand mortgage benefits, and weigh commute times reduces the odds that a good hire leaves for a cheaper market. Small-house neighborhoods where cottages and bungalows thrive offer attainable prices for early-career tradespeople, and employers who understand local markets can advise employees with real data.
Community Engagement and Veteran Recognition
Veteran programs extend past the office door. PPG’s recent activities include an employee video about post-traumatic stress disorder shared on PTSD Awareness Day, a discussion headlined by the network’s co-chair and executive sponsor for National Hire a Veteran Day, and a Veterans Day program with a colors ceremony performed by a high school Reserve Officers Training Corps unit. The company also completed a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project at Veterans Place in Pittsburgh and hosted a webcast with Colonel Gregory D. Gadson on lessons from two decades of service.
Events That Build Connection
- PTSD Awareness Day education that lets employees share personal experience safely
- National Hire a Veteran Day discussions of hiring and retention initiatives
- Veterans Day ceremonies that involve local schools and community groups
- Volunteer projects that improve facilities serving veterans
Community work also introduces veterans to the towns where they might settle. Preservation-minded tradespeople often find their niche in smaller markets, and discovering America’s best small towns for old-house enthusiasts can point a job-seeking veteran toward communities where restoration skills stay in demand.
Career Growth and Retention Programs
Retention depends on visible career paths. Veteran employees stay when they can see the next step: crew lead, project manager, safety officer, or regional trainer. Mentoring through the employee resource group feeds that pipeline, and career development programming gives members structured ways to build on military experience.
Building a Career Ladder for Veteran Employees
- Map military ranks and job codes to civilian roles at hire
- Set a 90-day onboarding plan with a named mentor
- Offer tuition support for certifications such as OSHA 30 and project management
- Review promotion readiness at six-month intervals with input from the resource group
- Track retention by cohort and adjust programs that lose people
Specialization offers another retention path. Veterans who move into preservation and restoration work build skills that appreciate over time, and markets with concentrated historic housing reward that investment. The best Victorian-era neighborhoods for old-house enthusiasts keep skilled labor busy for decades, which makes them attractive places for employers to anchor restoration teams.