Build Your Future (BYF) is a recruiting and image enhancement initiative under the National Center for Education and Research (NCCER). NCCER is the accrediting body for the construction and maintenance industries and develops curriculum, assessments and provides credentials and certifications that are industry recognized. Many companies look for NCCER credentials during hiring and as a means for additional wages and promotion within their organizations. You can check out some of those at the bottom of the page.

We want to provide NCCER credentials for the training you received while you were in the military. For this reason, we have worked directly with military trainers and industry representatives to develop task-based alignments for each branch which is represented on the right side of the screen. By clicking on your branch’s button, you will be redirected to the application page where you will identify your specialty code, review the NCCER modules that align to your military training and submit documentation to apply for NCCER credentials. After submitting, and if your documents are validated, you will be contacted within 4-6 weeks with an NCCER card number that has been generated from online, secure database -the NCCER Registry. You will also be notified if NCCER was unable to validate your training.

Hard Hat Heroes is working diligently to align other branches with NCCER craft training. If your branch is not listed, please click on the red button called “Request Alignments” and submit training information for possible alignments to other crafts.

The printable crosswalks serve as a resource to start the conversation of how a service member’s construction-related skill set will translate into the industry.  The crosswalk on the left compares all branches of the service with specific NCCER training and the crosswalk on the right is the complete document of the Army task-based alignments. By clicking on the images, you will be able to download, review and print off for your next military recruiting event.

No experience, no worries! NCCER has partnered with Pearson to provide $1 million worth of complimentary online Core Curriculum to service members and veterans. This curriculum will prepare you for safety on the job site as it teaches the following topics: