What’s Possible at Hilti: A Journey of Purpose, Passion, and Career Growth

With over two decades of diverse professional experience, Dulari Mehta, Social Impact Manager at Hilti has navigated multiple career transitions—from teaching to nonprofit work, and ultimately to a rewarding role at Hilti North America. Passionate about helping others unlock their potential, Dulari has dedicated much of their career to workforce development, creating opportunities for individuals to build better futures. Now, as part of Hilti, Dulari continues to explore what is possible in the world of work, leveraging their skills, purpose, and experiences to make a lasting impact.  

Bridging Gaps, Building Possibilities

Hilti North America’s workforce and education programs partner with community organizations to provide opportunities for underserved individuals, helping them access career paths at Hilti. Supported by job coaching and nontraditional resources, these team members thrive while meeting Hilti’s business needs. The Apprenticeship Program combines community needs with construction training, where apprentices refurbish tools returned through Hilti’s Tool Fleet Management program and donate them to nonprofits and schools across the U.S. and Canada.  

In 2024, apprentices helped donate $1.2 million in tools to 101 organizations. Project Catalyst is a full-time hiring program that offers similar support, helping talent transition into corporate roles. Hilti’s mission is to create a sustainable model for both environmental and social impact, bridging the labor gap in construction while diversifying the workforce. This approach adds meaning and purpose for employees while supporting business growth through recruitment and retention. 

A Journey of Career Transitions

I’ve been in the workforce for over two decades and have had a lot of career transitions. Some I chose and some I didn’t, but the one, by far, that has lit my soul on fire and been an exact fit for my purpose, passions, skills, and talents was joining Hilti North America.  Eighteen months ago, I could not have envisioned a world where this was possible, and that is exactly what Hilti is - an abundance of possibilities for everyone, everywhere.  

Let’s look back for a moment.  While I had a business degree, joining “industry” straight out of college was a disaster. I very quickly realized I needed meaning in what I did daily, and yes, that meaning needed to be in my job. Off I went to fulfill my childhood dream of being a teacher.  You are correct if you are thinking at this point, “is she crazy?” I was desperate to find meaning and purpose at work. Two certifications, a master’s degree in education, and a decade in public school elementary classrooms later, I knew it was time for a change.

First day onboarding with our partners at Storehouse Community Center – 3 got job at the DC within 3 months of the 6-month apprenticeship!

From Teaching to Nonprofit: Shaping My Path

So, I transitioned, again. Into the nonprofit world. Here I quickly found myself working in spaces that involved workforce development, training, education. I was helping people connect to and access opportunities that would enable them to build a better life than where they currently were.  Powerful stuff, though at the time I didn’t know it. Over the course of the next 8 years, I would build programs and teams that helped those emerging from trauma, the justice system, and in low skill jobs upskill, find jobs and get more training.  

And then, this work led to Hilti. The same access to opportunities that I helped others to find, was suddenly being offered to me.  As I began building highly innovate workforce programs to address our labor shortages, I found that asking “what is possible?” was a huge tool at Hilti. It helped us to be a better partner in productivity for our customers because it allowed us to explore places and ways others did not.  But this also made us a better employer for our team members, if they were willing to embrace a growth mindset and use all the development opportunities Hilti had to offer.   

Embracing Growth Through Hilti’s Possibilities

In my first 18 months, I picked and packed and did inventory in our largest distribution center to better understand the job I’d be helping to fill. I explored thousands of courses on our online Udemy education platform. Then collaborated with our Learning and Development team to create a robust learning package for our workforce readiness program. I shadowed my boss to learn how to bring customers together for a summit to exchange best practices. I “rode along” with part of our circularity teams to understand how we led the way in sustainable practices. I had 4 different mentors! And I completed our leadership training program for first time leaders in the Hilti-verse, as I call it.  

In tandem to this, the team members we hired into our workforce programs were growing through the opportunities they were getting at Hilti. They became more proficient in English. They get more confident in what they contributed day to day in their role through their carefully selected mentors. They became productive, high performing members of our teams through coaching and training. 

First day onboarding with Cohort 2 – 1 apprentice got a job in a corporate function— first place for Project Catalyst outside ops!

Reflecting on a Year of Transformation 

As I look back on my last year, I realize that I didn’t just transition into corporate social responsibility, I transitioned into possibilities. When I chose Hilti, I was choosing a place that would meet me where I was and allow me to access opportunities to become my best self, to join my purpose and my passion while continuing to grow my skills.   

As we close out 2024, and anticipate all that awaits us in 2025, ask yourself- what is possible? - and if you want a partner in exploring that, in knowing your work has purpose, then explore at a career at Hilti! You’ll never be the same again, and neither will your toolbox. 

Search our careers here: https://careers.hilti.group/en-us/