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By: FEDweek StaffThe top federal watchdog agency recognizes that armed services have made headway in helping those who separate to transfer their skills to new civilian jobs. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) believes better tracking of their efficacy is needed.
The GAO report cited two such programs:
· Credential Opportunities Online (COOL). It helps service members get civilian occupational credentials akin to jobs they performed in uniform.
· United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP). With it, service members can complete apprenticeship requirements for civilian jobs while still on active duty. They also can provide such information to prospective civilian employers.
While the individual service branches have managed these programs for years, they only issued instruction guidelines last October.
Defense Department statistics indicate that roughly 18,200 service members took part in the COOL program in fiscal year 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019-Sept. 30, 2020), with some 12,700 completing at least one credential. Also in fiscal 2020, some 114,400 service members took part in USMAP, with roughly 17,400 completing apprenticeships.
Based on two 2015 studies, GAO provided the Defense Department with data about the programs’ efficacy. Nevertheless, DoD has no up-to-date evidence regarding the programs’ effectiveness across the services, and does not plan to develop more evidence that would fully assess them. Pentagon officials told GAO that they are waiting for a new agency-wide instruction, which would be based largely on the October 2021 guidelines.
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