The Department of Labor reports more than 120,000 active-duty service members and nearly half of all veterans pursue vocational certifications or associate’s degrees to work in the skilled trades, according to Military.com.
At the end of 2025, the Department of Defense officially accredited the GAF Roofing Academy under its SkillBridge program, which “offers service members within their last 120 days of service the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, network in their desired industry and explore new career paths. Service members enroll in training while still receiving their military pay and benefits.”
The GAF Roofing Academy is a tuition-free, hands-on training program—no degree required—designed to teach participants practical skills in building roof systems, as well as in-home sales and restoration.
The program is open to everyone, but since launching in 2020, the GAF Roofing Academy has trained 323 military service members with a 49.54% placement rate into roofing jobs. The program operates in two-week, five-days-per-week cycles and has a specific focus on service members, veterans and other underrepresented talent pools looking to enter the trades. The academy has successfully placed more than 3,000 individuals into skilled trade jobs.
GAF predicts employment in roofing will grow 6% from 2024 to 2034.
Jacob Radford, a lead petty officer in the U.S. Navy who owns a commercial services company and participated in the GAF Roofing Academy, said many of his classmates were in the program because “they saw where the industry was headed and how lucrative it could be for them.”
"You don’t need prior experience to succeed in roofing,” Radford said. “In training, you'll learn a lot in a short time and come out better after it.”
