TESTIMONY
OF THE HONORABLE MARY LOU KEENER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE (FORCE MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL) BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON BENEFITS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT: CREDENTIALING (LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, ACCREDITATION,
AND APPRENTICESHIP) 27
SEPTEMBER 2000 Mr.
Chairman and distinguished members of this Subcommittee, I appreciate
the opportunity to update you on our efforts to enhance credentialing
opportunities for Air Force members.
In testimony presented at last year’s Oversight Hearing, our
Assistant Secretary spoke of the Air Force's shared interest with the
Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to help
veterans obtain credentialing necessary for a successful civilian
careers after they leave the military.
We informed you of our overall commitment to voluntary off-duty
education, the unique educational opportunities provided by the
Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), and our developing
partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make Air
Frame and Powerplant Certification (A&P) more readily obtainable
for our military aircraft mechanics.
Today’s hearing will allow us to inform you of the progress
made in these areas. Our
Voluntary Off-Duty Education Program and the educational opportunities
it affords, continues to be the number one reason for enlistment in
the Air Force. Full
funding of our Tuition Assistance Program remains a top priority as it
supports recruitment and retention.
Last year we spent over $55M in tuition assistance for our
personnel pursuing Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees.
This amount reflects a six million-dollar increase in tuition
assistance support. I am
very pleased to announce that within the last year Air Force expanded
its Tuition Assistance policy to permit and encourage pursuit of
professional licensure or certification by our members.
This policy change, to allow issuance of tuition assistance for
coursework leading to certification, was a direct result of our
involvement with the Departments of Labor and Veterans’ Affairs
Interagency Task Force on Certification and Licensing of
Transitioning Military Personnel.
Our new policy allows airmen and officers, regardless of
educational level, the use of tuition assistance funds in pursuit of a
certification of their choice. It
has been a resounding success, especially at locations where proactive
Education Services Officers have negotiated with local colleges to
offer high-cost certification programs at a reasonable price.
Already we have invited ten national professional associations
to enter agreements to make their examinations available to military
personnel through base education centers.
We will continue to support such partnering efforts to make
certification affordable to all.
Community College of the Air Force continues to prepare our
airmen and noncommissioned corps to meet the technological challenges
of an increasingly sophisticated and complex Air Force.
It does so by offering an Associate of Applied Science degree
in 66 technical disciplines that are directly related to an airman’s
Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC).
CCAF awarded 11,645 degrees in FY 99, which represents a slight
increase from the previous year. This near steady state, despite continued downsizing of the
Air Force, emphasizes the importance placed by Air Force in attaining
a CCAF degree. The recent
introduction of web-based academic advisement will strengthen the link
CCAF has with our enlisted force and in turn, continue to produce
technically competent airmen for the Air Force and society as a whole.
Last
year, we told you of our involvement in a Department of Defense and
Department of Transportation Tiger Team to partner with the FAA and
civilian aviation companies to make Airframe and Powerplant (A&P)
certification more readily attainable for our qualified military
personnel. I am pleased to announce this initiative has gained
significant ground during the past year.
In
an effort to make certification as seamless as possible, CCAF has been
designated as the Airframe and Powerplant Certification Program
Administrator for the Air Force.
In this capacity, CCAF will evaluate an airman’s training
record and certify their readiness to sit for the FAA examination.
Examinations will be administered over the Internet, free of
charge, at our base education centers.
Tinker AFB in Oklahoma will be our initial test site for this
program. For those airmen
lacking the necessary training to sit for the FAA examination, the Air
Force is developing computer-based courseware to bridge the
knowledge/training gap. By
targeting this program to airmen in the grade of SSgt and above we
hope to dramatically improve first-term retention rates in our
aircraft mechanic career field. In
summary, as you can see, the Air Force continues to seek ways to
improve skills training and education programs to make the Air Force
an attractive career. At
the same time, we are developing our airmen in such a way that they
are an asset to society when they depart our ranks.
Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee, we look forward to continuing our partnering efforts with our Sister Services, other federal agencies and the private sector where possible, to improve credentialing opportunities for our members. Thank you for this opportunity to provide you with a summary of our ongoing efforts to enhance the educational opportunities of our military personnel and to prepare them to demonstrate their skills to civilian employers at the completion of their military service. Back to Witness List |