White House Roundtable looks to help vets via IT credentialing.
Press Release Summary:
To help mitigate skills gap in IT industry and foster employment opportunity for USA veterans, White House held Roundtable on Military Credentialing and Information Technology on July 16, 2012. ANSI senior director for personnel credentialing accreditation programs Roy Swift, who was invited to participate, expressed eagerness regarding "ongoing cooperation between the military and the private-sector credentialing world" to establish necessary partnerships.
Original Press Release:
ANSI's Roy Swift Participates in White House Roundtable Event on How IT Credentialing Can Help Job-Seeking Veterans
In an effort to mitigate the skills gap in the IT industry and foster increased employment opportunity for America's veterans, the White House held a Roundtable on Military Credentialing and Information Technology on July 16, 2012. Roy Swift, Ph.D., senior director for personnel credentialing accreditation programs at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), was invited to participate in the interactive discussion, focused on certifications and credentialing programs that can best serve the needs of both industry and job-seeking veterans.
On June 1, President Obama announced the formation of a Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force, in cooperation with the Department of Defense (DOD), with the following tri-fold mission:
Identify military specialties that readily transfer to high-demand jobs;
work with private-sector credentialing and licensing organizations to address gaps between military training and credentialing and licensing programs; and
provide service members with greater access to necessary certifications and licensing exams.
The July White House Roundtable was intended to build on the work of the Task Force, and gather key experts from private-sector IT and credentialing organizations to share workforce needs, insights, and best practices with government and military representatives. The Task Force has already made great progress in providing opportunities for service members to gain industry-recognized, portable certifications for high-demand manufacturing jobs. The Roundtable's intent was to expand that success to the IT sector, where good-paying, high-demand jobs are also available.
"Thousands of service members receive quality training as part of their military careers," said Dr. Swift. "But those certifications don't translate into licenses or certifications for a comparable job in the civilian workforce, creating a barrier to employment for veterans. ANSI has been an active leader in working with the government on private-sector credentialing solutions for boosting veterans' employability. And we were proud to take part in the White House Roundtable to expand this work into the IT sector, where there is opportunity and growth."
Roundtable discussions included a summary of the Obama Administration's military credentialing initiative, shared best practices from partnerships with the manufacturing sector, and an overview of IT workforce needs and credentialing programs. Participants then collaborated on short- and long-term goals for public-private partnerships that will help service members access credentialing and licensing programs that translate into private-sector employment opportunities, post-military.
"We look forward to ongoing cooperation between the military and the private-sector credentialing world to establish the partnerships needed to help our veterans be part of a strong U.S. workforce," said Dr. Swift.
