The Gold Standard
Written by Sandra L. Winborne
MAE 2010 Volume: 5 Issue: 5 (July)
CREDENTIALING HAS BECOME A BENCHMARK
FOR EMPLOYMENT IN MANY PROFESSIONS.
Since the late 1970s, the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) has provided necessary information on credentialing (certification and licensure) programs to the military education communities who serve military members. Currently we have established memorandum of understanding with approximately 85 credentialing associations. The MOUs, which cover computer-delivery or paper-delivery examinations, are with numerous organizations, including Electronics Technicians Association International, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, International Information Security Certification Consortium, National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technology, CompTIA and the Project Management Institute.
Preparing for today’s jobs while also preparing for tomorrow’s is tricky for those who approach the process with a myopic vision. Many stop their institutional learning after they receive their college degrees and expect employment to come easily. Yet more and more professions these days require individuals to possess professional credentials as well as college degrees.
CHANGING TIMES
At one time, professional credentials simply meant to have a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. after one’s name—an academic acknowledgement of one’s achievement. But the requirements for employment in today’s economy have changed to include academic degrees, experience and other stipulations of each industry’s standards. Credentialing has become the benchmark or gold standard for many professions in order for people to gain employment or maintain employment.
By its connotation, licensure grants people the license and permission to practice a certain discipline in the workplace. Doctors, lawyers, pilots, certified public accountants and many others are licensed— federal and state laws mandate it. This helps safeguard the public from possible harm and ill effects. But certification is a voluntary process. Often it garners national recognition for an individual’s qualifications to perform specific technical tasks. Candidates who wish to be certified usually have to pass an examination that demonstrates competency and their ability to successfully perform a task or job.
The civilian work force utilizes credentialing for so many professions beyond those licensed areas mentioned above. The information technology and information security fields have grown exponentially since 9/11. Some of the credential holders in these fields may receive as much or more annual earnings than other high-salaried professions. The current economy is encouraging people to return to school, but credentialing can also make them competitive and noticeable to the companies that are hiring.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Against a backdrop of a poor economy and scarce employment, technical requirements for jobs have skyrocketed. Companies are hiring, “and the skills that are needed aren’t the skills the unemployed possess,” noted Colin Rose and Malcolm Nicholl in a publication concerning accelerated learning. “So upgrading of skills is a worldwide challenge. We are experiencing a skills shortage simultaneously with high unemployment.”
U.S. servicemembers receive some of the best training in the world and it seems reasonable that an assessment of that training using an industry-wide benchmark supports the employability of members after they separate from active service. DynCorp International and the Human Resources Research Organization have conducted studies on credentialing barriers and military personnel who have separated or retired from active service in occupations that had correlating credentials in their career fields. According to the study, military training commands should provide servicemembers with information regarding applicable licensure and certification requirements while they are still in training. Servicemembers should also be provided with information regarding the educational and training resources available to them to meet those requirements during their period of military service.
REALITY CHECK
The results of a study conducted in 2006 indicated that military members did not know much about credentialing, nor did they feel it to be necessary after their separation from the service. Over the last four years, there have some changes in the area of military credentialing. The U.S. Navy Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) has moved its program to a well-known stature in the lives of sailors. Navy COOL pays upfront for many credentials, and their Website features a cross-walk between military occupations and the civilian counter occupations. The Army’s COOL Web portal has been in operation since April 2002 and has captured the attention of many soldiers who want to begin the work now needed for future occupations.
Also, the Department of Defense’s Directive 8570 mandates that all information assurance personnel who work on DoD computers must obtain specialized IA certifications that support their qualifications to continue their jobs. The Department of Veterans Affairs has also made some changes specific to credentialing via the Montgomery GI Bill.
According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the following employment sectors will grow the fastest though 2018: biomedical engineering; network systems and data communications; home health assistance and personal home assistance; financial analysis; medical science; physician support; skin care practice; biochemistry and biophysics; and athletic training.
But will military members, separated personnel, military retirees and veterans be prepared for these positions? There is so much more work to accomplish in informing military members of the usefulness and necessity of credentialing. It has great purpose for life after the military and most of the hiring companies realize that the difficult task of going through hundreds of applications is reduced to those applicants who meet the requirement of possessing a credential. Having accomplished that milestone, former military members could see their name placed among the list of advancing applicants for employment consideration. ♦
Sandra L. Winborne is a manager of credentialing programs at DANTES.