By The White House

Fact Sheet: Administration Partners with Industry to Get Service Members Credentialed for High-Demand Jobs

Today, speaking at the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing, First Lady Michelle Obama will announce the IT Training and Certification Partnership, a new public-private partnership that will enable thousands of service members to earn industry-recognized information technology (IT) certifications before they transition from military service. The Administration will also announce a new grant program through the Department of Health and Human Services that will help veterans with health care experience pursue professional nursing careers and earn a nursing license.

Additionally, the event will feature four roundtables that will lay plans for the launch of additional public-private initiatives that will streamline the ability of service members and veterans to earn the civilian certifications and licenses required for high-demand jobs in emergency medical services, healthcare, and transportation sectors as well as streamline the ability for service members and veterans to translate military experience into academic credit. Key stakeholders from the private sector, the military services, industry trade associations, unions, educational institutions, state legislatures, veteran service organizations, and state licensing boards will participate in the sector-specific roundtables.

Today’s announcement builds upon President Obama’s June 2012 announcement of partnerships with the manufacturing sector that enable service members to earn high-demand advanced manufacturing certifications, and the establishment of the Department of Defense’s Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force. Additionally, the event is an extension of the First Lady’s challenge to our Nation’s Governors in February 2013 to take executive or legislative action to help our troops get the credentials they need to successfully transition to the civilian labor market by the end of 2015. Mrs. Obama also recently attended the bill signing with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley for that state’s Veterans Full Employment Act of 2013 and met with sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy who stand to benefit from the legislation.

A New Public-Private Partnership to Connect Veterans with High-Tech Jobs

Last June, the Department of Defense (DoD), at the President’s direction, established a Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force. The Task Force has focused its initial efforts on: (1) identifying military specialties that readily transfer to high-demand jobs; (2) working with civilian credentialing and licensing associations to address gaps between military training programs and certification and licensing requirements; and (3) providing service members and veterans with greater access to necessary certification and licensing exams. The Task Force’s work is focused on industries that have an identified need for more skilled workers and stand to benefit from military expertise and training, including manufacturing, first responders, healthcare, information technology, and transportation and logistics.

Today’s announcement is the second major partnership developed through the Task Force, and will provide opportunities for up to 161,000 service members to gain industry-recognized, nationally-portable certifications necessary for 12 high-demand technology professions, including computer programmers, quality assurance engineers, and IT security analysts. The technology professions targeted through this partnership are expected to generate more than 1.8 million job opportunities by 2020, and have an average annual salary of more than

Source: White House Press Office