The Problem

After serving and sacrificing, one of the first questions many veterans are faced with is:
“What comes next?”
Unfortunately, these amazing individuals are left without answers to questions like: What am I good at? Where do I fit? What am I passionate about? What is available or possible?
The result? Feeling out of place.
Many veterans often find themselves in awkward and or unfulfilling jobs that lack real purpose.


16 Career Clusters & Opportunities
Giving Veterans a Clear Path
We’ve created an on-ramp that gives veterans a successful transition to the workforce. Based on the 16 career clusters, the launch pad will be a gateway to the large array of PODS (Personal Opportunities for Developing Skills) that will host the various career clusters/pathways in an experiential format. When veterans visit the Launch Pad they will be able to interact, engage, and experience hundreds of different careers in one location.
Architecture and Construction
People who work in Architecture and Construction work to create, build and maintain buildings, houses, and other structures. This group includes jobs such as architects, builders, construction workers, and construction managers
Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
Grow, harvest, and sell food, wood, plant, and animal products. This group includes jobs such as farmers, agricultural scientists, nursery workers, and plant specialists.
Arts, Audio-Video Tech and Communications
Entertain others with their talents while others operate audio and video equipment. This group includes jobs such as artists, dancers, actors, writers, and audio-video equipment technicians.

Business Management and Administration
Work as business executives, secretaries, bank tellers, financial advisors, office managers and in other jobs that make businesses run smoothly at all levels. They do tasks such as managing business affairs and people, helping people with their finances, filing, answering the phone, and keyboarding on the computer.
Education and Training
Educate and train people for their lives and work. This group includes jobs such as college professors, school teachers, coaches, school administrators, and school counselors
Finance
Help people decide how to invest their money, prepare tax returns, buy stocks, and take care of other related money matters. Jobs in this group include bank managers, bank tellers, financial advisors, investment planners, and tax preparers.
Government and Public Administration
Make laws and guidelines that help our country, states, and cities run efficiently and within the bounds of the law. This group includes jobs such as lawyers, judges, senators, and city mayors.
Health Science
Work to keep people healthy by doing tests, giving care and medication, or sometimes doing surgery. This group includes jobs such as doctors, surgeons, nurses, mental health therapists, and physical therapists.
Hospitality and Tourism
Help people plan trips and make sure their trips and visits are comfortable and pleasant. This group includes jobs such as travel agents, restaurant waiters and waitresses, housekeepers, hotel receptionists, and museum guides
Human Services
Help others with a variety of kinds of needs. Some work with children in daycare centers; others counsel young people and adults who have career, emotional, and mental health needs. Still others provide a variety of personal and consumer services to the general public. Jobs in this group include daycare worker, mental health counselor, social worker, hair dresser, and customer service representatives.

Information Tech
Set up communication systems and other ways to get information from one place to another. This group includes jobs such as computer programmers, computer repair technicians, network administrators, data administrators and web site designers.
Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security –
Work as police officers, firefighters, security guards and in other jobs to make sure the work we live in is safe. They work to protect our homes and other property as well as our lives.
Manufacturing
Make products and get them to people who purchase them. This group includes jobs such as assembly line workers, packers, stock clerks, and machine operators
Marketing
Have jobs such as advertising managers, promotions officers, purchasing and sales agents, and other jobs that help entities sell their products and services and tell the world about their business
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Have the task of studying the world and applying their learning to practical applications. This group includes jobs such as research scientists, lab technicians, mathematicians, and engineers.
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Work to help move people, and materials from one place to another. This group includes jobs such as bus drivers, cab drivers, airline pilots, ship captains, and radio dispatchers.
The Launch Pad Experience
What does a day look like at the Launch Pad?


What does the future look like?
Our veterans gave us their best…
Now we are giving them our best by creating a place for them to explore career opportunities that otherwise may not have been a reality. By contributing to the J. Kruse Education Center you are saying yes to to America’s bravest men and women.
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Our Partners
Donate or Sponsor
Fill out the donation form below or email Matthew Toth, matthew@jkruseeducation.org to sponsor or donate!