VTEC Announces Projected $4.3+ Billion Annual Economic Impact of Fort Gillem National Training Campus

The groundbreaking VTEC Fort Gillem National Training Campus is projected to generate over $4.3 billion in recurring annual economic output and more than $520 million in direct annual wages by training 10,000 individuals for guaranteed employment.

ATLANTA, Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Veterans Training Empowerment Center (VTEC) today announced the projected economic impact of its planned VTEC Fort Gillem National Training Campus, a first-of-its-kind workforce training and hiring hub designed to serve transitioning soldiers, veterans, military family members, and civilians nationwide.

Based on verified industry wage data, guaranteed employer hiring commitments, and current workforce throughput projections, the Fort Gillem Campus is projected to generate more than $520 million in direct annual wages and over $4.3 billion in recurring annual economic output through job creation, workforce stabilization, and sustained service-based economic activity.

Call to Action

Organizations, employers, public agencies, philanthropic partners, and stakeholders interested in participating in or supporting the VTEC Fort Gillem National Training Campus are encouraged to visit https://www.100partnersportal.org/ for detailed partnership information, engagement opportunities, and program alignment resources.

A National Workforce Asset

The VTEC Fort Gillem Campus is being developed as a centralized national training and hiring engine focused on high-demand, mission-critical sectors, including:

• Skilled trades
• Clean and distributed energy
• Electric vehicle service and infrastructure
• Advanced technical services
• Critical infrastructure support

These sectors continue to face severe workforce shortages across the United States.

Unlike traditional workforce programs, VTEC delivers career-aligned training that leads directly to guaranteed employment, producing predictable, repeatable wage generation rather than speculative job placement outcomes.

Guaranteed Employment Model

VTEC's training programs are delivered in direct coordination with employer partners who commit to hiring graduates upon completion. Training cohorts are aligned to verified workforce demand, ensuring participants exit the program into active, paid roles rather than extended job searches. This structure eliminates workforce mismatch and ensures immediate economic participation upon graduation.

Supporting Military Families as Economic Units

The Fort Gillem Campus is intentionally designed to stabilize entire military households by providing training and employment pathways not only for transitioning service members, but also for their immediate family members. By expanding access to guaranteed employment across the household, VTEC multiplies wage stability, reduces financial disruption during military transition, and strengthens long-term economic security for military families.

A Message From the CEO

"This is not an investment pitch — this is economic production. The Fort Gillem Campus is engineered to generate real wages, real jobs, and real output year after year. When you train people for guaranteed careers, economic growth follows. This campus is designed to function as a national workforce engine."
— David Gallemore, CEO, Veterans Training Empowerment Center (VTEC)

Long-Term Economic Impact Drivers

The economic output generated by the Fort Gillem Campus is reinforced by:

• Direct wages and household spending
• Employer expansion and workforce retention
• Supplier, contractor, and vendor activity
• Increased demand for housing, transportation, retail, and services
• Expanded local, state, and federal tax revenues

Collectively, these factors drive multi-billion-dollar, recurring economic impact anchored in workforce productivity rather than one-time development spending.

Public Cost Savings

By accelerating direct employment and shortening time-to-workforce entry, the Fort Gillem Campus reduces reliance on unemployment benefits, retraining cycles, and public assistance programs. These reductions generate measurable cost savings for state and federal systems while increasing tax contributions and economic self-sufficiency.

Economic Impact Methodology

All projections are grounded in current operational data, not speculative assumptions, and are based on:

• VTEC's existing training completion and placement rates
• Verified post-graduation wages from employer partners
• Guaranteed job placement outcomes
• Workforce development and service-economy multipliers are used in regional and national economic models

A Scalable, Four-Stage Training Model

The Fort Gillem Campus expands VTEC's proven workforce development framework:

1. Virtual & Remote Training – Foundational skills delivered globally via laptop and VR platforms
2. In-Class Technical Instruction – Instructor-led training aligned with industry certification standards
3. Real-World Field Training – Hands-on experience on active job sites alongside seasoned technicians
4. Career & Leadership Development – Professional readiness, leadership, and long-term workforce integration

This structure enables national scale while maintaining consistent quality and measurable outcomes.

A National Blueprint for Workforce Infrastructure

The Fort Gillem Campus serves as a replicable national blueprint for workforce infrastructure that can be deployed in additional regions facing critical labor shortages, positioning VTEC as a long-term workforce partner to industry and government.

Meeting a National Workforce Need

As the United States faces accelerating shortages in skilled trades, clean energy, and advanced technical roles, the Fort Gillem Campus converts unmet labor demand into measurable economic output.

By accelerating employment for transitioning service members and civilians, the program:

• Reduces unemployment duration
• Expands the tax base
• Decreases reliance on public assistance
• Strengthens household and community stability

A Public Benefit, Not a Speculative Project

The VTEC Fort Gillem Campus operates at the intersection of:

• Workforce readiness
• Economic production
• National resilience

Every trained worker represents:

• A household stabilized
• A career launched
• An economy strengthened

The Veterans Training Empowerment Center (VTEC) is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an authorized Army Career Skills Program (CSP) provider operating on Fort Benning Army Base in Columbus, Georgia. Since 2017, VTEC has delivered hands-on, career-aligned training to transitioning soldiers, veterans, civilians, and military families. VTEC programs are backed by industry-recognized certifications, operate on military installations nationwide, and hold the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (GuideStar)—the highest standard for nonprofit accountability.

SOURCE Veterans Training Empowerment Center