Hiring? Uncle Sam May Have the Ideal Candidate for You
Many United States military veterans who operated in an information technology capacity have discovered that a lack of industry-recognized IT certifications may mean that the jobs they performed during service to their country won’t help them obtain an IT position when they join the private sector.
In a TIME article on veterans facing unemployment, Tom Tarantino, an Army veteran who served a combat tour in Iraq and who is now chief policy officer at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, wrote the following:
Many veterans return home ready to continue the jobs that they did in the military in the civilian sector, only to find that they need to re-train to do the job they’ve been doing, in order to meet the requirements for a civilian license or certification.
In an attempt to help service men and women leverage their IT expertise in the civilian job market, the federal government announced a new public-private partnership—IT Training and Certification Partnership—to enable thousands of service members to earn industry-recognized information technology certifications before they transition from military service.
According to the White House announcement, the IT Training and Certification Partnership will provide opportunities for up to 161,000 service members to gain industry-recognized, nationally portable certifications necessary for twelve high-demand technology professions, including computer programmers, quality assurance engineers, and IT security analysts. These professions are expected to generate more than 1.8 million job opportunities by 2020, with an average annual salary of more than $81,000.
The announcement is a result of the Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force announced in June 2012 by the Department of Defense. The Task Force has worked with corporations and credentialing associations to expand the availability of certifications to military personnel with skills in high-demand areas such as computer programming, information assurance, network administration, and program design. Participating companies include Cisco Systems, Microsoft, HP, NetApp, and others.
Service members in the process of transitioning out of the military and into the civilian workforce, as well as those at early- and mid-stages of their military careers, will be able to partake in a gap analysis of their IT skills and then test for and earn civilian credentials above and beyond those required for their military occupation. Additionally, during the pilot phase of this program, free bridge training programs will be available if the gap analysis indicates a need.
So, if you’re looking for highly qualified and certified IT professionals, Uncle Sam may have just the candidate. Hire an IT vet!
