ELLABELL — For veterans preparing to leave the service, translating years of military experience into a civilian career can be a big challenge.

At Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, a partnership with Heroes MAKE America is helping bridge that gap, giving transitioning service members specialized training and a direct pathway into jobs in advanced manufacturing, equipment maintenance, robotics and engineering.

Heroes MAKE America is a Department of Defense-approved SkillBridge initiative by The Manufacturing Institute, which serves to build connections between the military community and careers within manufacturing and supply chain.  

The HMA’s mechatronics and advanced manufacturing program provides an accelerated, eight-week training course designed to help service members translate their military experience into skills that manufacturers recognize. Training includes areas such as programmable logic controllers, electrical systems, machine controls, mechatronics and other technologies used in modern manufacturing.

John Mott, a Marine veteran and head of HMGMA's equipment maintenance department, said the company has participated in three cohorts of the program and has been impressed with the results.

"The results have been fantastic – very good skills, very good attitude,” Mott said.

The partnership has already produced a pipeline of workers for the Hyundai facility. HMGMA has hired 17 people who completed the Heroes MAKE America program — roughly 30% of the program's graduates..

HMGMA’s efforts are part of broader regional efforts to recruit from southeast Georgia’s retired military population in order to meet labor needs. 

Mott said his department at HMGMA is particularly interested in “highly qualified electromechanical technicians” who can work with the robotics and servo systems that operate the Metaplant's advanced manufacturing equipment. Mott said the eight-week HMA program provides candidates with many of the technical fundamentals the company needs while giving them a foundation for further learning once they arrive at the plant.

Military experience also provides advantages that are less tangible but valuable on a manufacturing floor, Mott said.

He said service members leave the military with discipline and a mission-oriented approach to their work. 

“Once we give them a task or something to take care of, they do a fantastic job of following through,” Mott said. 

They also are accustomed to dealing with unexpected problems, a skill that can be especially important when machinery does not operate as expected, he said.

"They don't just look at it and say, 'Oh, it stopped. I need to call somebody,'" Mott said. "They look at it and say, 'I need to get this running. What do I have to do to do that?'"

Jason Zdunich, HMGMA's assistant manager for military community relations, said the company recognizes that military job titles do not always translate neatly into civilian careers.

“The HMS program is filling a gap for when a service member comes out,” he said. “It provides real life job skills training for these service members to be able to land on their feet.”

The partnership also helps the company tap into the large military community surrounding Fort Stewart, where many service members and their families have established roots in the Savannah-area region.

David Lunebach, a robotics and automation technician at HMGMA, retired from the Army after 20 years and was part of the first Heroes MAKE America cohort. He said his time in the army gave him extensive experience involving maintenance, electronics and pneumatics, making his transition into the HMA program and then as an HMGMA employee smooth.

After retiring at Fort Stewart, Lunebach wanted to remain in the Savannah area — a consideration he said is common among service members leaving the installation.

The Heroes MAKE America program helped make that transition possible.

"They get you the right training," Lunebach said. "They get you the right tool set to work with."

During the eight-week course, Lunebach learned about and gained hands-on experience with programmable logic controllers, electrical systems and machine controls. 

He said he’s excited to be in this tech and manufacturing field. 

“Automation and robotics are the future,” Mott said. 

For other service members, the program is also an opportunity to explore careers they might never have considered while in uniform.

Sazmine Dorsey, who served four years at Fort Stewart as a culinary specialist, joined HMA after deciding she wanted a more hands-on career. She had no previous background in advanced manufacturing.

During the program, she said she learned that her military experience could be translated into civilian skills while also acquiring entirely new ones.

"All of our work that we do in service does not always compute to out of service," Dorsey said. "Coming through this program helps me put my skills into civilian words."

HMGMA plans to continue the partnership, with four HMA cohorts expected each year. Cohorts generally include between 16 and 18 students,

Zdunich said the company would like to increase the share of program graduates it hires, from about 30% to roughly 40%.

Dorsey said she was nervous to start the program and dive into a field she was unfamiliar with. Those nerves quickly turned to excitement.  

"It’s doable," she said. "You don't have to do exactly what you did when you were in the military. It is possible to learn something new and love it."