Tapping Into The Military

Perspectives from veterans and facility management professionals who see the potential and promise of seeking military veterans to help solve labor management challenges.

Tapping into the military to help fill gaps into today’s facility management labor market has drawn attention from IFMA and other associations.

Veterans possess an exceptional set of skills that are highly transferable to the facilities management space, such as leadership, discipline, and technical expertise. These attributes can help address the industry's labor shortages and bring fresh perspectives to complex challenges. We’ve interviewed veterans who offer their views on both bottlenecks and solutions.

Lydia Laws, Navy

Originally from Tennessee, Lydia joined the Navy right out of high school as an Aviation Electrician’s Mate, responsible for maintaining, testing, troubleshooting and repairing complex electrical and electronic systems and instruments. She worked on military aircraft while stationed in Brunswick, Maine.

“That’s what gave me the confidence to do that type of work,” she said. After leaving the Navy, Lydia did college admissions and recruitment. Later, she and her husband opened their own automotive repair shop. At another organization she found a maintenance position, based on her experiences in the Navy.

Within her first month, she discovered reliability, planning, and scheduling, which has been an interesting career pivot. She also began the process of getting additional certifications.

“I fell in love with that, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” said Lydia, who is now working with Renaissance Reliability, helping veterans get paired with manufacturing companies when they transition out of the military, through the Unturning Steel program.

“I'm helping them organize and structure and do outreach finding these manufacturers that would want to meet with our veterans and see if it's a good fit and walk through what that looks like,” she said. “The program was also created to help combat veteran suicides.”

“I don't think working with veterans is highlighted enough because there's some stigma associated with our leadership abilities. And it's been my experience that leadership qualities can sometimes be lacking in these industries. I wish they had a program like this when I got out of the Navy because I had no idea what to do or where to go,” Lydia added.

Lydia explained that veterans leaving the service and looking for careers in the private sector often feel like they’re starting over or even going further back. Regarding the transferability of skills, the vernacular is different, and what they've done is different, but the steps, the processes, the procedures, and the things that you're going to want out of an employee are the same.

Lydia herself enjoyed serving in the Navy, as did her father. Maine was beautiful and she had the opportunity receive Six Sigma Green Belt training and she learned to optimize her base before they close it, which is typical of any government military installation.

“Continuous improvement is kind of a personal motto for me,” said Lydia.

Lydia laughed and said, “I am a mother of a 15-year-old daughter who has no doubt that I can do anything. Like, no doubt. She thinks I can do everything.”

As for the future, Lydia is really excited about the Renaissance Reliability and Unturning Steel programs.

“I couldn’t sleep at all yesterday because I’m so excited about all the things we can do to help veterans and manufacturers,” she said.

Tim Payne, Navy

Tim spent the first 13 years in the military serving in the Navy Seabees, which is the Navy's construction and building branch. Following his Naval career, he immediately began working in home construction, then went to a K12 system in Georgia working in their facility management team. After retiring from the school district, he started his own firm doing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, energy projects and retrofits and replacements in buildings, including VA hospitals.

When he looks for skilled tradespeople for projects, he tries to find veterans first.

“I know what it’s like to be a veteran and trying to get into the industry. For me, it took some time and effort and I’d like to help other veterans find meaningful and good work for themselves when they’re transitioning into civilian life,” he said.

“Sometimes positions don’t exactly correlate because the facility management and construction world have evolved and gotten more specialized these days,” he added.

According to Tim, all military branches have engineers of various types. The problem for veterans, is that they don’t always have degrees or certifications that civilian organizations and HR departments require, but they are well-trained, they know structure, and process and they what steps need to be completed to get promoted within a system.

“I'm not saying they're not given a fair shake. I'm saying that there is a disconnect between what they come out with and what they're capable of. It doesn't necessarily correlate to paper well,” Tim said. “When you fill out an application, when you look at a job description out there these days, almost always there's some sort of a certification they're looking for.”

Some veterans have families and responsibilities, and they’ve got to find positions quickly, so they may opt for construction positions rather than facility management positions.

“When the vast majority of military people come out, they want to do a good job and they want to impress their bosses,” said Tim. “Because of the way the military is structured, there's always another step to go which is something they know well – not always true in civilian life.”

“Resumes are very difficult for the military people, too, because they don't have to do them. I mean, there's training on them and how to do them, and they try to teach them how to correlate their skills to the industry, but it's still difficult to do,” he added.

Tim believes there are also ways that industry could collaborate and work with the military to get into these transitioning programs they have so that the guys know that there's opportunities out there.

One very positive resource Tim pointed out is that every base has a transitioning program on site. These programs typically begin six months before veterans begin planning for life after the military.

Later in life, Tim went to night school to get his bachelor’s degree, then did his Master’s work online.

After Tim got out of the Navy, he had about a three-day break before he had to get back to work.

He encourages veterans to make the most of transitional programs on-site at bases and he also encourages organizations to develop relationships with nearby military bases.

Matt Blasko, Marines

Matt Blasko, a Marine veteran, witnessed his father struggle to find a job for several months after retiring as a lieutenant commander with 27 years of service. The first job he was offered was at a paper factory, where he would have been responsible for loading products into presses for printing. Eventually, he found a suitable position through someone who knew him and recognized his capabilities. His father went on to write aircraft maintenance curriculums while working for Northrop Grumman.

After Matt left the service, he worked in home construction for several years.

He has adeptly steered cross-functional teams through start-to-finish operational initiatives. In various corporate, ownership, and consulting roles, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 brands, he oversaw growth initiatives across diverse industries — from retail, consumer goods, and apparel to customer service, philanthropy, and technology.

Presently, Matthew serves as the Facilities Director for two leading fashion retailers, overseeing facility operations across all North America in the retail/outlet and concessions sectors. Collaborating with field management, he ensures that locations function at optimal levels, maintaining 100% functionality from a maintenance perspective. His responsibilities include coordinating site surveys for new locations, pop-up stores, and relocations, liaising with landlords, vendors, and corporate personnel.

Matt has worked hard to achieve career accomplishments, but sometimes he wonders how many organizations are truly proud to have military personnel.

“It’s been hard finding jobs and getting accepted,” said Matt. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster and I have many friends in similar situations.”

Facility Management Career Pathways for Veterans

Veterans bring a wealth of skills, discipline, and a strong work ethic to the facilities management space. Their military experience equips them with the ability to tackle complex challenges, lead teams effectively, and continuously seek improvement. Organizations that recognize and leverage these strengths can fill critical labor gaps and contribute to a smoother transition for veterans into civilian careers. By fostering collaboration between military programs and industry, we can create pathways for veterans to thrive and drive innovation in facilities management.