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STATEMENT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE (MANPOWER, RESERVE AFFAIRS, INSTALLATIONS AND
ENVIRONMENT) SUBCOMMITTEE ON BENEFITS
OVERSIGHT
HEARING VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT: CREDENTIALING
(LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, ACCREDITATION, AND APPRENTICESHIP) September 9, 1999 Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I
appreciate the opportunity to discuss the ongoing programs of the Air
Force in addressing the transition needs and employment requirements
of our military members.
The Air Force shares the interest of the Department of Labor
and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that we need to do what we
can to help veterans achieve the necessary credentialing to enhance
second career opportunities. We
view this as a fundamental part of the military life cycle.
The emphasis we place on transition assistance today is an
investment in both today’s and tomorrow’s recruiting and retention
efforts, and helps to ensure that we live up to our responsibilities
to our people, both for those who stay in for a career and those who
leave short of that.
While the Air Force is committed to providing significant
transition assistance to our members and their families as they leave
the Air Force, we must first ensure that all of our members have the
training and the skills necessary to perform their military missions.
As you know, the Air Force mission over the last decade has
evolved to include an ever-widening array of peacekeeping
responsibilities with increasing numbers of deployments while we have
maintained our wartime readiness.
During this 10-year period, deployments of our troops increased
over 400 percent while manpower was reduced by 40 percent. Given these force reductions, it has become imperative that
we concentrate even more on providing the skills training necessary to
ensure that our remaining personnel can meet mission requirements.
Given these manpower and budget constraints, the Air Force
cannot fund a credential for every Air Force member who desires it
upon separation.
We recognize that there is a growing trend by private sector
employers, Federal and state agencies, professional associations, and
unions to use credentialing to regulate entry into occupations and
promote professional standards. The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law
104-275, established the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans
Transition Assistance. The
Commission’s charter is to review the adequacy and effectiveness of
transition assistance programs for servicemembers making the
transition to civilian life.
Recommendation II.e. of the Commission’s Report--Identify
Credentialing Barriers and Opportunities--requires DoD:
to inform servicemembers of licensure, certification, and
apprenticeship requirements during initial skills training to keep
them informed throughout their careers; to stay abreast of
credentialing standards and update military occupational crosswalk; to
determine military occupations for which it is feasible to meet
civilian credentialing requirements; to modify the Verification of
Military Education and Training (VMET) document (DD Form 2586) to
reflect activities relevant to certification, licensure and
apprenticeship; and to fund Defense Activity for Non-Traditional
Education Support (DANTES) to ensure continuing credentialing
opportunities.
The Air Force understands the skills and competencies required
to succeed in the civilian workplace.
Our focus is on providing a first-class training environment
that gives our airmen the opportunity to acquire civilian
accreditation for the Air Force training they receive.
Since certification examinations measure competence to perform
in the workplace, the question is, “Do our personnel meet the
qualification standards for entry into a civilian job or
profession?” Our
experience tells us the answer is a resounding “yes”.
There are two paths to licensing and certification of our
members. First, for those
working in Air Force specialties that by public law or Federal
regulation require certification and licensing to work in them, the
Air Force will budget and pay for civilian certification, i.e., Air
Traffic Control; Pararescue, Vehicle Maintenance; Heat/Vent/Air
Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAR); Pavement & Construction;
Utilities Systems; Pest Management; Fire Protection; Nursing; and
Radiological Technology. Second, there are 32 civilian credentialing
organizations that offer certification examinations through our
long-standing agreement with DANTES at Air Force bases worldwide.
Over 60 Air Force Specialty Codes have certification
examinations available. Members
who seek certification for civilian employment have the opportunity to
test at their local bases at their own expense.
Even without these public law mandates, we would support
credentialing in order to enhance our members’ performance in
specific Air Force specialties, such as Automotive Service and
Emergency Medical Skills. DANTES
currently is looking at the feasibility of funding some of these most
requested examinations, e.g., Certified Technical Trainers.
The Air Force also supports innovative joint efforts that lead
to certification or licensing of our members.
For example, along with other Services, we are developing
partnerships with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make
the FAA Air Frame and Power Plant Certification (A&P
Certification) more readily obtainable for qualified military
personnel. FAA is
completing its site visits to military installations to validate
members’ training for potential certification.
When this initiative is finalized and approved, simplified FAA
A&P certification should be available for over 100,000 Air
Force active duty and Reserve personnel.
Another 125,000 personnel could benefit from this certification
in second careers from the other Services, including the Reserve and
National Guard components, ensuring that active duty specialized
training is transferable to meet the FAA training requirements for
certification. A similar effort is underway in our communications
community where an extensive array of Information Technology software
has been developed to provide our airmen the skills and knowledge to
successfully complete specific certification requirements, e.g.,
Microsoft certification. Additionally,
for some years our Off-Duty Voluntary Education Program has supported
75 percent funding of the cost of teaching degrees that lead to the
certification of teachers.
The Interagency Task Force, which began as a result of the
“Study of Civilian Licensure and Certification for Veterans” -
August 19, 1997, funded by the Department of Labor’s Veterans
Employment and Training Service, serves as a catalyst for information
sharing and collaboration among all of the participating agencies.
We wholeheartedly support the Task Force’s goals to gather
information on certification and licensing requirements in civilian
employment, and to identify existing studies on the issue; to analyze
existing Federal programs that assist military personnel to acquire
Federal licenses required for civilian employment; to identify
military occupations which have civilian counterparts that require
certifications or licenses; and to determine the most effective
methods to assist transitioning service members to obtain both Federal
and non-Federal certifications and licenses needed for civilian
employment.
The Task Force has generated ideas and new networks that will
yield continuing enhancements for our separating personnel. DoD’s
revision of the Verification of Military Education and Training (VMET)
document listing credentialing activities.
Use of the Internet ensures widest dissemination of pertinent
information and convenient access for both members and their potential
employers. DANTES already
has provided an Internet link directly to the OSD Voluntary Education
website with specific information on licensure and certification.
The Air Force also assists our transitioning personnel by
emphasizing skills training and education prerequisites for licensing
and certification. Our
commitment to education is one of our most successful recruiting
tools. In recent Quality
of Life Surveys, tuition assistance was ranked first, and off-duty
education third, in the top five reasons airmen stay in the Air Force. Over one-third of our airmen pursue voluntary off-duty
education programs that lead to an associate or bachelor’s degree.
In FY98, we spent over $49M in tuition assistance for our
personnel pursuing Associates, Bachelor’s and Masters degrees.
We have worked with the Congress to preserve our Tuition
Assistance Program. Last
year, OSD adopted the Air Force’s long standing policy of
reimbursing 75 percent of tuition costs as the standard for all
Services.
In 1972, we established the Community College of the Air Force
(CCAF) which offers a two-year, job-related associate degree to our
enlisted members. CCAF
provides unique educational opportunities and is a major Air Force
success story. During
FY98, of 12,054 associate degrees earned by Air Force personnel,
11,500 were awarded by CCAF. (Currently
there are 385,495 active duty, National Guard and Reserve members
enrolled in CCAF.) We find the program not only enhances mission readiness and
contributes to the overall professionalism of the Air Force, it also
supports the career transition of enlisted Air Force members. In a recent survey of supervisors of CCAF graduates, over 70
percent said graduates produce higher quality work, are willing to
accept more responsibility, perform better on the job and are more
technically competent. This
CCAF funding validates the Air Force emphasis on education.
We continue to build distance learning capabilities for our
members and their families in overseas areas.
Through increased Internet access at military facilities
overseas, we have significantly reduced gaps or delays in members
reaching their educational goals.
Skills training (also known as technical, operational, or
advanced training) is provided to virtually every Air Force member.
It results in a significant advantage to our members during
their transition to civilian employment.
Air Force training ranges from a four-week course that prepares
enlisted members for administrative duties, to one year or longer
courses in highly technical fields, including pilots, linguists, and
computer systems personnel. As mentioned earlier, this specialized skills training
provides a baseline for licensing or certification, and frequently
induces civilian employment offers.
Another Air Force tool to prepare transitioning members for
life after the Air Force has been our highly successful Transition
Assistance Program (TAP). One hundred and thirty-five civilian employees comprise the
program staff at Air Force Family Support Centers at Air Force bases
worldwide. During
individual pre-separation counseling sessions, members review all of
their key benefits, services available, and appropriate referrals with
the TAP staff. These
counseling sessions (over 132,000 last fiscal year) reduce the stress
for members and families with timely, pertinent information that
addresses the families’ immediate and long-range needs.
In conjunction with the Departments of Labor and Veterans
Affairs, our three-day workshops give members a thorough
indoctrination in job search skills leading to successful career moves
after the Air Force. In
FY97, Air Force bases hosted 1,117 Department of Labor Transition
workshops for over 31,000 attendees.
TAP staff also offer a variety of additional classes and
automation assistance as a means to assist members with transition and
job search information.
In short, Mr. Chairman, Air Force has achieved very positive
results in programs that lead to certification or licensure for our
members. Currently, we
are polling the field on our members’ usage of DANTES examinations.
By monitoring usage, we can better identify the specialties in
which our airmen are seeking credentials and increase our efforts to
assist them with transition to those career fields.
Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee, we look forward
to continuing our work with the Interagency Task Force and
implementation of Commission recommendations to improve and enhance
transition accreditation services to our members and veterans.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these issues with you.
I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.
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