Current federal estimates show significantly more post-9/11 veterans are jobless than are non-veterans of comparable ages. The rate is highest for those ages 18 to 24 --30.2% compared with 16.1% of non-veterans. The U.S. defense and labor departments have concluded that veterans who performed highly skilled tasks in the military are being held back because they do not have the professional credentials required to qualify for similar civilian jobs.
Many of these skills overlap those required of workers in high demand fields like healthcare, information technology, logistics, manufacturing, and transportation. For example, medics have extensive experience administering care in high pressure situations and have performed many of the same functions as registered nurses. But nurses typically must have completed an approved nursing program and passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.
The DoD and individual military branches have developed initiatives that simplify credentialing processes for current and former service members. Over the next year, the department’s Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force is charged with (1) coming up with a list of military occupational codes that require job skills similar to those for high-demand civilian occupations, (2) working with credentialing bodies to address gaps between military training programs and credentialing requirements, (3) giving service members information about credentialing and licensing options, and (4) facilitating the administration of credentialing and licensing exams.
The task force’s first focus will be on developing private sector partnerships to enable 126,000 soldiers to obtain credentials and occupational licenses for jobs in engineering, logistics, machining, maintenance, and welding as soon as they complete their military training.
