Military personnel leaving the service and entering the work force now have a new ally in Kansas.

Helmets to Hardhats, a program supported by Congress to help skilled personnel land jobs in the private sector, officially arrived in Kansas on Friday. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gathered in Wichita with military officials, union leaders and government representatives to hail the program and its supporters, who worked to add Kansas to the list of states participating.

The program links National Guard, Reserve and transitioning active-duty military personnel with jobs and training opportunities in building and construction trades. Electricians, welders, mechanics and others who picked up their expertise while wearing a uniform can get assistance putting those skills to work off base.

“They can be immediately accepted into apprenticeships,” Sebelius said, in her prepared remarks. “It’ll allow them to use the skills they learned in the military. They’ll receive credit for these skills in the training and apprenticeship programs, and it’ll give employers an opportunity to benefit from the values and ethics our military men and women possess.”

The assistance is the “least we can do for veterans” who have served their country, said Smitty Belcher, a member of the effort’s national committee.

“And it’s a great way to hire veterans, who are disciplined and know what it is to put in a hard day’s work,” said Belcher, owner of Lenexa-based P1 Group, which owns Huxtable & Associates Inc. in Lawrence and other operations in Lenexa and Topeka.

The program, started in 2002, is administered by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment and Veterans Employment, based in Carlsbad, Calif.