Madame Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the role the Department of Defense (DoD) plays in helping Servicemembers obtain licenses and certifications as they transition from active duty.  Education and training are keys to obtaining meaningful employment and a better quality of life once a servicemember retires or separates from the military.  Servicemembers are encouraged to take full advantage of all educational opportunities and training programs afforded while they are on active duty such as tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  The Department also focuses on providing separating servicemembers useful information and assistance in all aspects of the transition process, including preparation for post-military employment, as they re-enter civilian life.  Attaining a civilian credential promotes professional growth and communicates to employers the transferability of military training and experience.  It is crucial to the transition process that servicemembers are able to take full advantage of their military experience in order to reach and achieve their full employment potential after they leave the military.  

TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP)

Although this statement addresses other programs and resources to assist servicemembers in their transition to civilian life, TAP remains the primary platform used by DoD, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to inform, educate and provide one-on-one counseling to transitioning servicemembers regarding the translation of their military skills and experience into civilian language.  Successfully accomplishing this activity enables servicemembers to be strong competitors for career opportunities in the civilian workforce.  

We continue to provide licensure and certification information in a range of ways and in different formats in order to appeal to individual learning styles and ensure the widest possible dissemination.  The information is provided through classroom delivery from an instructor, by online interaction and internet research, and through one-on-one coaching.  This ensures that servicemembers have current and accurate information at their fingertips in order to make informed decisions about their future.  A key feature of effective licensure and certification programs are that they are introduced to servicemembers early in their careers, not just at the time of separation, as discussed in more detail later.

TAP is a collaborative partnership among DoD and the Military Services, DOL, VA, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Each agency is responsible for providing its portion of TAP.  During the mandatory DoD portion, commonly referred to as preseparation counseling, servicemembers, including the National Guard and Reserves, receive information and or referral to installation experts about licensure and certification.  After servicemembers complete the preseparation counseling portion of TAP, they receive a copy of a checklist (DD Form 2648 for Active Duty and DD Form 2648-1 for the National Guard and Reserves)  so they can refer back to it and look up web sites and other information to reinforce what they received during the preseparation counseling session.  The counselor is required to explain “Licensing, Certification and Apprenticeship Information” and discuss with transitioning servicemembers.  The checklists have all the topics required by statute that a counselor must address during the preseparation counseling session.  The forms are used by separating servicemembers and their spouses to record that preseparation counseling was conducted.  There are also additional resources and references addressed during this session. 

If the servicemember desires more information on this or any other topic on the checklist, which exceeds the general knowledge of the counselor, then he or she checks a “YES” block next to the item on the form, and the counselor will refer the servicemember to a subject matter expert who is able to assist the member with the desired information, or get the answers to questions which the transition counselor may not have been able to answer.  The subject matter expert may be a family support transition or education counselor located at the installation, or it may be a DOL or VA representative who provides TAP support at the installation. Servicemembers are always encouraged to do research on the internet and it is recommended they start with America’s Career InfoNet, the DOL web site on licensure and certification (http://www.acinet.org).  The Workforce Credentials Information Center, within this site, provides a wealth of licensure and certification information.  The member can also access the Occupational Information Network called O*NET (www.onlineonetcenter.org) which also falls under the purview of our partners at DOL.  This site is considered the nation’s primary source of occupational information.  Using O*NET allows the servicemember to do a crosswalk between their Military Occupational Code and the civilian equivalency of that code, linking them to the Standard Occupational Classifications in the civilian workforce.

The information received during the preseparation counseling portion of TAP is reinforced during the other three core components of TAP:  DOL’s TAP Employment Workshop, VA’s Benefits Briefing, and the Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP).  National Guard and Reserve personnel also receive a Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights (USERRA) briefing in lieu of the full two and a half day TAP Employment Workshop.  However, DOL has advised each state’s Adjutant General of the opportunity to receive TAP employment workshops whenever and wherever desired.  Transitioning servicemembers, including National Guard and Reserve personnel, are strongly encouraged to visit one of approximately 3,000 DOL One-Stop Career Centers where they receive priority service consisting of help with translating their military skills to civilian occupations, receiving a skills assessment, or getting assistance in finding a job.  In addition to receiving information on licensure and certification, servicemembers also receive information on apprenticeship resources.

TAP-THE WAY FORWARD

The current program has been in place for nearly two decades without major enhancements and the original design was not intended for current demand.  Initially developed in the late 1980s and implemented in the early 1990s, TAP exists for the benefit of servicemembers and their families, including Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists.  To strengthen TAP and reinforce its value to servicemembers and their families, TAP will move from a traditional event-driven approach to a modern, innovative lifecycle approach.  The Department is working to implement this strategic plan with focuses on information technology, strategic communications, and resources and performance management.  The end-state for the TAP overhaul will be a population of servicemembers who have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to empower them to make informed career decisions, be competitive in the global work force and become positive contributors to their community as they transition from military to civilian life.

A Joint Interagency Strategic Working Group for TAP was established and an assessment of TAP was conducted in July and August of 2009 to evaluate overall program effectiveness and identify improvement opportunities.   The goal of the assessment was to develop an inventory of potential TAP improvement initiatives by identifying gaps and capturing improvement opportunities across the dimensions of policy, process, content, delivery methods, technology, outreach, and data analytics.  A key factor also involved documenting those TAP improvement areas to address previously identified needs, such as Wounded,  Ill and Injured (WII) and National Guard and Reserve Component, and identifying opportunities to leverage successes across services, potentially reducing redundant investments.

Assessment findings were organized by the assessment dimensions (stakeholders, policy, process, technology, communications, and metrics) with an understanding that TAP off-site sub-working groups would be organized to develop the “road map” and strategic plan of the future.  The major findings involved five core areas:  Policy and Legislation; National Guard and Reserve; Strategic Communications; Technology and Social Networking; Standards and Performance Management.  The sub-working groups remain in place to advance TAP imperatives.  Integrated program management plans and a master schedule are currently being developed to track requirements, activities and progress. 

OTHER RESOURCES

In addition to DOL’s "America's Career InfoNet" web site, other resources such as the Army and Navy Credentialing Opportunities Online (COOL) web sites are readily available.  Army and Navy COOL sites, discussed in greater detail below, explain how Soldiers and Sailors can meet civilian certification and licensure requirements related to their military occupational specialties or ratings.  They also serve as a resource to identify what civilian credential relates to a servicemember’s military occupational specialty (MOS) or Rating and how to obtain them.  Additional resources include the DoD Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET) document, the DoD/DOL United Services Military Apprenticeship Program, the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES), and TurboTAP, DoD’s Official Transition Assistance Program web site.  All of the aforementioned were developed and designed to help servicemembers translate their skills and experience into opportunities for civilian employment. 

Because the core Transition Assistance Program is predominantly classroom oriented, the Military Services also provide one-on-one counseling, coaching, detailed briefings, guidance and other assistance to meet the needs of our servicemembers.  Beyond the “core TAP” a variety of additional workshops and seminars are provided to assist in writing effective resumes, translating military skills to civilian skills, and self and skills assessments.  There are also separate workshops on Federal resume writing. 

Also included in the preseparation counseling session is a discussion of DOL’s Web site, Career One Stop (www.careeronestop.org). In this application, servicemembers link to the Credentials Center, which they can use to locate State-specific occupational licensing requirements, agency contact information and information about industry-recognized certifications.  There are also associated workforce education and examinations that test or enhance knowledge, experience and skills in related civilian occupations and professions.  These sites have been developed and improved through close partnerships between DoD and DOL.   

TURBOTAP

To accommodate today’s technologically reliant servicemembers, TurboTAP was designed for easy accessibility and navigation.  Servicemembers can access useful information located throughout the site. Among the many features of the TurboTAP web site is a Preseparation Guide for Active Component Servicemembers, a Transition Guide for the Guard and Reserves, and an Employer Hub.  Both guides deal with employment assistance, and provide a wealth of information on employment assistance and credentialing programs. They also link directly to Army and Navy COOL, the O*NET, the Occupational Outlook Handbook and many other resources relating to licensure and certification.  

DoD AND MILITARY SERVICES PROGRAMS AND TOOLS

The DoD and military Services have significantly augmented their focus on licensure and certification.  The next portion of this statement will touch on some additional programs and tools put in place by DoD and the Services to assist members with licensure and certification,prior to a member leaving active duty. 

In recognition of the importance of the need for highly-qualified, experienced information assurance personnel, DoD has established a policy requiring certain individuals with privileged access to DoD information systems to obtain civilian credentials.  This DoD 8570.1 Directive, made official in August 2004 and implemented according to the requirements of DoD 8570.1M Manual in December 2005, requires any full- or part-time military servicemember, contractor, or foreign employee with privileged access to a DoD information system, regardless of job or occupational series, to obtain a commercial information security credential accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or equivalent authorized body under the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 Standard.  The Directive also requires that those same employees maintain their certified status with a certain number of hours of continuing professional education each year.  The number of people affected by this mandate is estimated to top 100,000, including any full- or part-time military servicemember, contractor, or foreign employee with privileged access to a DoD information system, regardless of job or occupational series.

ARMY

The Army has embraced licensure and certification as a key method of helping Soldiers apply their military training and work experience to the civilian workforce.   They have conducted extensive research to link each MOS to civilian jobs and applicable civilian licenses and certifications.  The Army has identified civilian credentials related to 100 percent of its enlisted and Warrant Officer MOSs.  Some of these credentials are directly related to the MOS and others are related to embedded skills attained by the Soldier through Army training and experience.

The extent to which Soldiers are able to use their military training and experience to attain civilian licenses and certifications is determined through comprehensive gap analysis comparing MOS training with civilian credentialing requirements.  The gap analysis is conducted on credentials determined to be most directly related to the MOS or to the skills attained through MOS training and experience. 

As part of the gap analysis, an attainability rating is assigned to each relevant credential.  This rating indicates the estimated ability of a first-term Soldier to obtain a given credential.  Attainability ratings reflect the likelihood of a Soldier attaining the corresponding credential during his or her first term of service, attaining it in a subsequent enlistment, or encountering difficulty in translating their military training and work experience to a civilian credential.  

The results of the research linking MOSs to civilian jobs and credentials, along with the results of the gap analysis, are available to Soldiers through the Army COOL web site (https:www.cool.army.mil).  This robust site provides Soldiers, counselors, family members, and employers with comprehensive information about certification and licensure relevant to Army MOSs.  Enhancements to the Army COOL web site are continual.  New search features and additional credentialing resource information were recently added and the web site was also expanded to include Warrant Officers.  

The site also helps Soldiers find civilian credentialing programs related to their MOS and it helps them understand the requirements for obtaining a credential.  In addition, it identifies resources that will pay credentialing fees.  The web site is specifically designed to aid Soldiers in translating their military training and work experience to the civilian workforce.  COOL web site usage is consistently high.  The site receives thousands of “hits” each month, approximately two-thirds of which are MOS-specific.  Soldiers can also receive one-on-one counseling in licensure and certification from education counselors at each installation.  The Army COOL initiative is closely integrated with other Army and DoD programs that can help Soldiers meet credentialing requirements, including the servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Army Degree (SOCAD) program, DANTES credentialing program, and Army e-learning.  In recognition of the importance of credentialing for Soldier professional development, the Army, in 2003, began awarding promotion points for technical certifications for Soldiers competing for promotion from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant.  These Soldiers can receive 10 promotion points for each certification up to a total of 50 points.

NAVY

The Navy’s credentialing program offers Department of Navy (DON) servicemembers expanded opportunities to earn civilian occupational licenses and certifications.  The program has been developed to promote recruiting and retention and to professionalize the Navy workforce (both active duty and reserve), thus improving mission readiness.  It also enhances the Sailor’s ability to make a smooth transition to the civilian workforce.  The Navy’s credentialing program has two key components – dissemination of information on civilian licensure and certification opportunities and payment of credentialing exam fees. 

The Navy COOL, a publicly-accessible web site (https://www.cool.navy.mil), serves as a hub of comprehensive information to guide Sailors in pursuing occupational credentials related to their Navy work experience and training.  The web site was brought online in 2006 in collaboration with the Army and utilizes the same underlying database of civilian credentials that is used for the Army COOL web site.  Navy COOL disseminates the results of extensive research and analysis linking each DON rating, job, designator, and occupation to civilian jobs and applicable civilian credentials.  It provides the results of comparability analyses conducted to identify potential gaps between DON training and civilian credentialing requirements and provides extensive information on resources available to fill the gaps.  The web site is targeted towards Sailors, family members, Navy veterans, career and education counselors, credentialing agencies, and potential civilian employers.  COOL feedback shows interest from other military services (active, reserve, and veterans) for their own service-specific COOL web site. 

In September 2007, DON approved funding of credential exams that are directly related to a Sailor’s job or occupation or to a critical skill set within.  The Navy funds both mandatory and discretionary credentialing exams.  To date, over 2,400 credential/job combinations are approved for funding and over 34,000 exams have been funded (as of 30-Jun-2010) at an average cost of approximately $270 per exam.

Program metrics indicate the success of the Navy credentialing program is high:

• To date, Navy COOL has experienced over 67.2 million hits (averaging 2.2 million hits per month).
• Credentialing staff has personally briefed over 19,000 Sailors on the Navy’s credentialing program.
• More than 5,000 e-mails have been received providing feedback on the Navy’s credentialing program with over 98 percent of the feedback being positive.
• More than 3,000 Sailors participating in the Navy’s credentialing program are re-enlisting/extending to take advantage of this program.

AIR FORCE 

Air Force emphasis on licensure and certification is two-fold--career-related degrees and certification from civilian schools.  The first option an Airman has is a degree conferred only to enlisted members only by the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). CCAF confers associate degrees in each enlisted member’s career field.  The degree consists of accredited college-level training from the Air Force along with general education courses from civilian colleges.  Each year the Air Force confers over 17,000 associate in applied science degrees.  Since CCAF received regional accreditation in 1980 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, it has conferred a total of 344,000 associate degrees.  The degree is equivalent to the civilian world's terminal associate degrees for trade certification. 

All Air Force Specialty Codes (career fields) translate well to comparable civilian work experience.  In a 2009 survey of CCAF graduates, 82 percent said that most or all of CCAF credit transferred to bachelor-level degree programs.  In addition to the associate degree opportunity, Air Force policy is to fund one license or certificate per Air Force career to both officers and enlisted.  Each year the Air Force expends approximately five million dollars for licensure/certification of Airmen, or approximately 3 percent of the military tuition assistance budget with 3,500 earned certifications.  The COOL search-tool equivalent for Airmen, known as the Credentialing and Research Tool (CERT), links the CCAF degree programs with nationally-recognized professional certifications relevant to specific career fields. 

MARINE CORPS

The Marine Corps uses a variety of resources to assist its Marines with licensure and certification, including DOL’s America's Career InfoNet web site, Army and Navy COOL web sites, the VMET Document, the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program, the Occupational Information Network O*NET, DANTES and TurboTAP.  Additionally, there are Marine Corps Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP) personnel who are Certified Workforce Development Professionals and possess the skills necessary to assist Marines in translating their military experience and training into understandable civilian terminology.

The Marine Corps has also conducted extensive reviews of the transition and education programs and services and established a planning framework for major program reforms.  The primary objective is to provide every Marine with an opportunity to successfully achieve their stated performance goals from accession to interment.  The program redesign will include the integration of complementary services, to include Transition Assistance, Voluntary and Off Duty Education, Personal Financial Management, and Family Member Employment Assistance.  This integrated personal and professional readiness approach to program delivery is being developed to support Marine Corps institutional aims and successful occupation of individual Marines via established roadmaps for professional military development/promotion, portable skill development, transportable education credit contributing to employment/career, and financial planning to support personal and professional roadmaps.  

OTHER EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

The Operation Warfighter (OWF) program is a DoD-sponsored internship program that offers recuperating wounded, ill and injured servicemembers meaningful activity that positively impacts wellness and offers a formal means of transition to return to duty or enter into the civilian workforce.  The main objective of OWF is to place recuperating servicemembers in supportive work settings that positively benefit the recuperation process.

OWF represents a great opportunity for transitioning servicemembers to augment their employment readiness by building their resumes, exploring employment interests, developing job skills, benefiting from both formal and on-the-job training opportunities, and gaining valuable Federal government work experience that will help prepare them for the future.  The program strives to demonstrate to participants that the skills they have obtained in the military are transferable into civilian employment.  For servicemembers who will return to duty, the program enables these participants to maintain their skill sets and provides the opportunity for additional training and experience that can subsequently benefit the military.  OWF simultaneously enables Federal employers to better familiarize themselves with the skill sets of wounded, ill and injured servicemembers as well as benefit from the considerable talent and dedication of these transitioning servicemembers.

To date, the program has placed approximately 1,600 servicemembers across more than 100 different Federal employers and sub-components.  The program currently has 225 active internship placements. 

The Veterans Employment Initiative (VEI), created by Executive Order 13518 aims to increase the number of veterans in the Federal government. DoD is a strategic partner in this initiative along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), VA, DPL, and DHS. The Order established an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that advises the President and the Director of OPM on the initiative. The Council serves as a national forum for promoting veterans’ employment opportunities in the executive branch and develops performance measures to assess the effectiveness of the VEI. Agencies covered by the VEI have established Veterans Employment Program Offices or designated a full-time staff person dedicated to providing employment services to veterans. Veterans and the public may also access the VEI’s helpful website at www.fedshirevets.gov.  

The National Resource Directory (NRD) is a partnership among DoD, DOL and VA. The information contained within the NRD (www.NationalResourceDirectory.gov) is from Federal, state and local government agencies; veterans service and benefit organizations; non-profit and community-based organizations; academic institutions and professional associations that provide assistance to wounded warriors and their families.

The NRD is an easily accessible, comprehensive tool for transitioning servicemembers who are looking for education and training-related, and employment opportunities.  Content on the National Resource Directory is gathered, reviewed and updated by a team of subject matter experts with a military background.  The NRD features hundreds of resources on job training, scholarships, tuition assistance programs, internships, apprenticeships, licensing & certification, the GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program.

To ensure that users are getting the information they need, the NRD utilizes several social media methods to distribute resources and new information.  One of these methods is an e-mail marketing service.  Currently, more than 3,200 NRD subscribers receive regular updates about education, training and employment.  News and updates are also posted through the NRD Facebook page and LinkedIn groups.           

CONCLUSION

Although the focus of this hearing is on what DoD, VA and DOL are doing to assist servicemembers in translating their military training and experience into comparable civilian sector competencies as they seek employment, there also needs to be a focus on what the servicemember needs and finds most effective.  Each agency must do all it can to provide the best possible information, education, counseling, coaching and support to our deserving servicemembers.  The discussion must also include servicemember responsibility and we believe that by providing an array of sources of information and support mechanisms to the members we are helping them take hold of their future and equipping them with the tools to direct their careers far into the future.  There is no doubt we can be more efficient and effective, and we will.

The Department understands there is a strong consensus within Congress and the Veterans’ community that more needs to be done to help servicemembers translate their Military Occupational Codes into civilian sector language.  Even though a great deal is being done, the Department recognizes that more can be done and that we must continue to find new ways to not only reach our servicemembers and impart knowledge to them, but also strive to ensure they grasp and understand the information. We must also measure the successes and identify best practices. 

The Department acknowledges the importance of providing servicemembers with clear and definitive information on licensure and credentials across the duration of their military careers.  Providing this information early on allows servicemembers to plan and seek out any additional classes required to achieve their goals.  To that end, the Department is revamping TAP as we move into the next decade.  Transition assistance will become a process that occurs throughout the military lifecycle from the time of accession through separation, not a single event that occurs at the time of separation or retirement, or in the case of demobilizing/deactivating National Guard and Reserves, when they are released from active duty.

Over the next year we will be working on a number of initiatives relating to the revamping of TAP, including:  Policy and Legislation, improved processes related to deployment patterns and realities of the National Guard and Reserves, Strategic Communications and Outreach, Technology and Social Networking and Resource and Performance Management.  We will keep the Subcommittee abreast of our progress and we will solicit your input as well. 

Madame Chairwoman, this concludes my statement.  On behalf of the men and women in the military today and their families, I thank you and the members of this Subcommittee for your steadfast support.