When Marine Sergeant Christopher Carter was deployed to Iraq in 2007, he used heavy equipment to help repair and maintain roads in the war-scarred country.

Now home in Lenox, Carter, 35, still has the skills and experience to operate bulldozers and bucket loaders. But he doesn’t have a piece of paper certifying he completed a formal apprenticeship in the use of such equipment. It’s been enough to keep the father of four from landing a job in the field he spent years learning.