A SkillBridge expo is held at Marston Pavilion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Feb. 28, 2023. The expo was held to help service members that are in their last 180 days of service explore different specific industry training, apprenticeships and internship opportunities through the SkillBridge program. (Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Antonino Mazzamuto) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
By: FEDweek StaffService members who leave the military would be better served if the Defense Department did a better job of collecting and analyzing data about how they take advantage of existing transition-assistance programs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Some 12,000 service members took part in SkillBridge, the DoD program that offers transition assistance to them, Between last Sept. 30 and the end of February, according to GAO. Of them, 83 percent were enlisted.
Better collection and use of related data “could help … see if the program is meeting service members’ needs and identify and address any issues,” GAO stated in the report.
The government’s top watchdog agency recommended that the Pentagon take several steps in improving SkillBridge, to include:
• Updating program guidance to include the types of data that should be tracked, and how it should be reported
• Once guidance is updated, ensure that the secretaries of each service are directed to collect and report that data to the Military-Civilian Transition Office, “along with any associated corrective plans.”
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