Marine Corps Base Quantico --
Last month the Department of the Navy released the Marine
Corps Credentialing Opportunity Online. The Marine Corps COOL website provides
a listing of civilian licenses, certifications and job opportunities that are
related to each of the enlisted military occupational specialties. Melora
McVicker, education services officer at the Voluntary Education Center aboard
Marine Corps Base Quantico, said that the program can benefit both active duty
and reserve Marines.
Marines are often concerned about how their military job
can benefit them in the civilian community, and this new tool can allay some of
the doubt by detailing various certifications and jobs that are in fact closely
related. According to Heather Hagan, the public affairs officer for Marine and
Family Programs Division, “the United Service Military Apprenticeship Program
provides a tool to document skills acquired while on active duty in the Marine
Corps that lead to civilian recognitions and journeyman status in a trade or
skill.” The use of both USMAP and Marine Corps COOL together can help Marines
identify a list of skills they possess and jobs they might not have known they
were qualified for.
According to the Marine Corps COOL website, Marines can
qualify for a civilian credential or license through their years of on-the-job
experience and by taking an exam; in many cases, no additional education is
needed. “Credentials are a particularly important consideration for Marines
transitioning from active service because they are recognized and valued
indicators that our Marines have the knowledge and skills civilian employers
need,” said Col. Lee Ackiss, the deputy branch head for Personal and
Professional Development Branch, Marine and Family Programs Division,
Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Having job-related credentials on their resume
will make Marines more attractive to potential employers.
Currently the program only provides information for
enlisted MOSs. “However,” Ackiss said, “officer MOSs and linkages to
credentialing and translatable skills opportunities will indeed be added, with
a separate identified search portal entry, in the next forthcoming
developmental phase of Marine Corps COOL. That process is already in progress
and we look forward to that expansion in support of all Marines across the
Total Force.”
Marines interested in using Marine Corps COOL can access
it at https://www.cool.navy.mil/usmc.
ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com