How to Recruit Veterans Near Naval Station Great Lakes
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Naval Station Great Lakes sits just north of Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. It is one of the best veteran talent sources in the Midwest. Most employers in the area do not know that. They drive past the gate every day and never think to recruit from it.
Great Lakes is different from other Navy bases in one big way. It is the Navy's only boot camp. Every enlisted Sailor in the fleet starts here. On top of that, a large share of new Sailors stay on base for technical "A" school training. That mix shapes the local talent pool in a way no other base does.
This guide breaks it down for a midsize company. You will learn who the Sailors near Great Lakes are. You will see what skills they bring, and how to reach them before they leave. Hire in the Chicago metro and want skilled, disciplined people? This pool should be on your list.
Key Takeaway
Great Lakes runs the Navy's only boot camp plus major technical schools. The local pool skews young, recently separated, and trained in electronics, engineering, and systems work. Reach them early and you get strong hires before bigger employers do.
What makes Naval Station Great Lakes a unique talent pool?
Great Lakes has been training Sailors since July 1911. People on base call it "The Quarterdeck of the Navy." It earned that name for a reason.
Since 1994, it has been the Navy's only enlisted boot camp. The Orlando training command closed that year. Every new enlisted Sailor in the fleet now passes through Great Lakes first. In fiscal year 2025 that was more than 42,000 Sailors. That was the command's highest output in a decade. That output ran about 10,000 above the year before, per the Navy's Recruit Training Command.
The bigger story for you is what happens after boot camp. Roughly a third of new Sailors stay right there at Great Lakes for technical training. This is "A" school, where they learn a trade. The base runs Training Support Center Great Lakes. That command houses the Navy's apprentice-level technical schools. Around 13,500 Sailors a year come through it for that training.
So the area holds two kinds of military talent. Sailors who trained here and later separate nearby, plus the petty officers who taught them. Both groups are worth your time.
Why does the boot-camp role shape the local pool?
A base built around training does two things to the talent near it. First, it draws in skilled instructors. Instructor billets usually go to Sailors with strong records. The petty officers running A-school and boot camp are proven leaders. Some finish their shore tour here and stay in the area.
Second, some Sailors who train here come back to the Midwest when they get out. Some came from the region and want to return. Others met a spouse or put down roots during training. That can put them inside your hiring radius.
Who are the veterans near Great Lakes that you can hire?
The pool here leans toward two groups. Junior enlisted Sailors who just separated, and the technical instructors and petty officers who trained them. These are the skill sets you will actually find.
Talent You Will Find Near Great Lakes
Electronics and systems technicians
Trained at the base electronics and fire control schools. Fit field service, test, and repair roles.
Engineering and machinery Sailors
Surface engineering school grads who run pumps, valves, and power systems. Fit facilities and industrial work.
Entry-level Sailors with a clean record
Just finished one tour. Show up on time, follow process, and learn fast. Fit trainable roles.
Instructors and frontline petty officers
Taught at boot camp or A-school. Strong at training, leading small teams, and running a process.
One caution before you go further. The area around the base is a full job market of its own. Not every Sailor near Great Lakes is a technician. And a job title on a resume does not always say what the person did day to day. Read the resume for the work, not the rating code.
What does the technical training mean for your hires?
Sailors at Great Lakes go through long, hard schools. An electronics technician spends about 11 weeks in apprentice technical training. Then comes roughly 19 to 22 more weeks in the "A" school at Great Lakes. That path runs about 30 to 33 weeks in total. A fire controlman does the same apprentice phase, then a fire control strand. That path runs about 27 to 31 weeks. Those numbers come from the Navy's rating training pages and the DoD Advanced Electronics rating card.
Think about what that means. A 22-year-old with this background has already finished about seven months of technical school. The Navy paid for it. You did not. They know how to troubleshoot, follow a tech manual, and work to a standard. That is rare in an entry-level hire.
How do you read a Great Lakes Sailor's resume?
Most resumes from Sailors come in heavy with Navy terms. Rating codes, ship names, and acronyms. If you screen on the raw words, you will pass on strong people. The fix is simple. Translate first, then judge.
The same experience can read two ways on paper.
"ET2, completed C-school, stood watch on SPS-49 radar, ran PMS on combat systems gear, supervised 4 junior Sailors."
"Electronics technician with advanced training. Operated and maintained complex radar systems. Ran a scheduled maintenance program. Led a 4-person team and owned quality and safety."
The Sailor on the left and the candidate on the right are the same person. One version gets screened out. The other gets an interview. Your job, or your recruiter's job, is to do that translation before you decide.
Want a deeper screening process? Our guide on how to evaluate a veteran's resume walks through it step by step. For the title-decoding piece, see how to read a military job title on a resume.
Watch your applicant tracking system
Your ATS racks and stacks resumes by keyword match. A strong Sailor can sink to the bottom of your list over one missing word. The fix is to search both languages. List the military term and the civilian term side by side in your search.
How do you reach Sailors before they leave the area?
Timing is everything near Great Lakes. The junior Sailors here separate young, often after one tour. If you wait until they post a resume on a job board, you are late. Bigger employers and the trades will have already talked to them.
The play is to reach them before their separation date. Here is the order that works for a midsize team.
Connect with the base transition office
The transition staff at Great Lakes works with Sailors who are heading out. Build a real relationship with them. They can point separating Sailors toward your roles.
Host a SkillBridge intern
SkillBridge lets active-duty members work at your company in their last months of service. The military keeps paying them, so you pay nothing. Your company must have been in business at least three years to host.
Tap a ready candidate pool
Use BMR to find Sailors who already built a civilian resume. You get the translated version up front, so screening is faster.
Want more on timing? Read our guide on how to hire transitioning service members before separation. We also cover how to recruit recently separated veterans 0 to 12 months out.
Is SkillBridge a hire or a tryout?
SkillBridge is a tryout. Hiring comes later, and only if you both want it. A Sailor on SkillBridge is still on active duty. The Navy still pays them. You owe no salary and no full-time offer during the program.
Treat it like a long, paid interview. If it works out, you can offer the job before they separate. They start on your payroll after the separation date. If it does not, you both walk away clean. Your business must be at least three years old to host. You can learn the rules on the official SkillBridge site. Our guide on how to become a SkillBridge host company covers the setup.
Why is the junior enlisted pool worth your attention?
A lot of employers chase senior veterans with 20 years of experience. There are not many of those, and everyone wants them. The junior pool near Great Lakes is bigger and easier to win.
These are Sailors with three to six years in. They are young, but they are not raw. Many have held a security clearance. All of them met a standard every day. Most learned a trade on the Navy's dime. For a midsize company, that is a strong entry-level or skilled hire.
The numbers back up the bet. The jobless rate for all veterans was 3.5 percent in 2025. That is below the rate for non-veterans, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Veterans compete well in the civilian market. They are a low-risk group to bet on.
Want help deciding how to weigh entry-level vets? Our guide on how to recruit junior enlisted veterans for entry-level roles goes deeper on this exact group.
How does a midsize company win this pool?
You will not out-spend a Fortune 500 firm near Great Lakes. You do not need to. A midsize company wins on speed and clarity, not salary.
A big company can run a Sailor through many rounds over a month. You can meet them, make a clear offer, and close in a week. To a Sailor who needs a job by their separation date, fast and simple beats a famous name.
- •A fast, clear hiring process
- •A local role with no relocation
- •A job description that names real skills
- •A manager who has met a veteran before
- •A slow process with weeks of silence
- •A req full of jargon no Sailor will match
- •An ATS that screens on Navy terms
- •A demand for years of civilian-only experience
Get your hiring system ready first. Our veteran recruiting strategy playbook covers the full process. To size the local market, see how many veterans are in your local talent pool.
Should you count on the WOTC tax credit?
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit can cover some veteran hires when it is active. Right now it is not active. It expired at the end of 2025 and is not available for 2026 hires. Congress has let it lapse and brought it back before. Hires you made in 2025 may still qualify.
So base your decision on the talent, not the credit. If the credit comes back, treat it as a bonus. Our guide on how to file a WOTC certification has the details for when it is active. You can also check the Department of Labor employer page for current hiring resources.
How does BMR help you recruit near Great Lakes?
The hard part of hiring a Sailor is the front end. Finding them early, and reading past the Navy terms. BMR solves both.
BMR is a veteran talent platform. Sailors and veterans build civilian-ready resumes on it. That means the translation is already done when you see a profile. You read real skills in plain English. More than 65,000 resumes have been built on the platform. Over 1,000 new profiles get added every month. The pool runs deep in electronics, engineering, logistics, and frontline leadership. Those are the exact skills Great Lakes produces.
For a midsize company in the Chicago metro, that is a steady local supply. The talent is trained and recently separated. You do not have to wait for a job fair or hope a resume lands in your inbox.
Want a Navy analog? See how the same approach works near other bases. We cover recruiting veterans near Norfolk's Naval Station and veterans near Submarine Base New London.
The bottom line for employers
Great Lakes feeds the whole Navy through boot camp and trains thousands more in technical schools. The local pool is young, skilled, and separating near Chicago. Reach them early and read past the jargon. A midsize company can land strong hires before anyone else moves.
Ready to start? You can reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool. See the Sailors near Great Lakes who are ready to work. Want a longer-term sourcing plan? Partner with us and we will help you build it.
Frequently Asked Questions
QWhy is Naval Station Great Lakes a good place to recruit veterans?
QWhat kinds of jobs do Sailors near Great Lakes train for?
QHow do I reach Sailors before they separate?
QIs SkillBridge a hire or a tryout?
QShould I rely on the WOTC tax credit when hiring veterans?
QHow can a midsize company compete for this talent?
QHow does BMR help me recruit near Great Lakes?
About the Author
Brad Tachi is the CEO and founder of Best Military Resume and a 2025 Military Friendly Vetrepreneur of the Year award recipient for overseas excellence. A former U.S. Navy Diver with over 20 years of combined military, private sector, and federal government experience, Brad brings unparalleled expertise to help veterans and military service members successfully transition to rewarding civilian careers. Having personally navigated the military-to-civilian transition, Brad deeply understands the challenges veterans face and specializes in translating military experience into compelling resumes that capture the attention of civilian employers. Through Best Military Resume, Brad has helped thousands of service members land their dream jobs by providing expert resume writing, career coaching, and job search strategies tailored specifically for the veteran community.
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