In September 2021, I took over the credentialing manager position at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, which means I help Army engineers from all three components learn about the Army Credentialing Program.

The program, according to its website, provides veterans with the technical skills they need to help close the gap in civilian employment skills.

 I was surprised by all the benefits I didn’t know the Army offered. I vaguely remember the mandatory education brief when I in-processed, but I couldn’t tell you where to go for more information off the top of my head.

Once I started dissecting the Army Credentialing Program, I immediately felt like I had missed out on so many opportunities, not only for myself, but also for soldiers I’ve led over the past 20 years.

Too Late

After a year and a half in my position, I attended the five-day Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshop because I was planning my retirement from service. During one of the briefings, the facilitator put up a link to the U.S. Military Apprenticeship Program, which is offered under the Army Credentialing Program. USMAP is a training program that helps soldiers and other service members enhance their job skills, complete civilian apprenticeship requirements and obtain journeyman cards aligned with their MOSs, according to its website. The U.S. Department of Labor provides a nationally recognized Certificate of Completion upon finishing the program.

Soldiers attending the workshop were unaware of this program. And because they were within 12 months of transitioning, they were unable to use it—USMAP requires that a service member have one year remaining on their enlistment to participate.

When I thought about how many soldiers across the Army going to TAP had this “deer in the headlights” moment, it frustrated me. Soldiers should already have their Certificates of Completion before they attend TAP. 

According to a 2024 Rand Corp. report called “Federal Programs to Assist Military-to-Civilian Employment Transitions,” “a more direct link to the civilian labor market [can be made] by identifying how military skills give participants a head start in pursuing specific civilian career paths.” USMAP empowers active-duty service members to gain formal recognition for employable skills they gained through their military service. Service members can log the hours they have worked in a trade during their time in the military. The program also provides accreditation and free training in those trades.

MOS-Specific Opportunities

USMAP is a program of opportunity for enlisted soldiers who identify a trade specific to their MOS and enroll after reading the program guide. Privates through specialist/corporal can enroll in time-based trades, while sergeants through command sergeants major can enroll in competency-based trades.

Every MOS has at least one trade in which to enroll. The minimum completion time is 12 months for time- or competency-based enrollments. Once the trade is approved by an officer in the soldier’s chain of command, the soldier earns a permanent Department of Labor Certificate of Completion and a journeyman card, and can move on to the next available trade.

Each trade is broken down into work processes or skill areas, which also have an Occupational Information Network developed under the sponsorship of the Department of Labor that matches the trade to a civilian occupation.

USMAP is unique in that it gives commands the opportunity to execute self-development opportunities for soldiers through the USMAP platform. Depending on the trade, a certificate can be earned at home station, at combat training centers or on deployment, and doesn’t require off-duty hours. With the Army’s operational tempo increasing each year, this program will prove vital to allowing soldiers to earn certificates when they cannot use other existing programs.

Increasing Awareness

In June 2023, the Engineer School launched an informational campaign across Fort Leonard Wood to increase awareness for enlisted soldiers serving in the active and reserve components to earn a Department of Labor Certificate of Completion and a journeyman card. This event kicked off with a briefing for senior leaders, where Command Sgt. Maj. Zachary Plummer, the Engineer School’s top enlisted leader, said, “College isn’t for everybody, but apprenticeships are.”

Following this event, the Engineer School began briefings during all educational courses at Fort Leonard Wood about USMAP, including at Advanced Individual Training, Engineer Basic Officer Leaders Course, Engineer Captains Career Course, and all phases of Non-Commissioned Officer Education.

During this informational campaign, I identified a shortcoming: Although it’s important to teach USMAP in the classroom to individual service members to use back at their unit, it’s also valuable to establish a USMAP command coordinator to be the subject-matter expert for the command. This could ensure the integrity and compliance of the joint effort between DoD and the Department of Labor.

The Engineer School has reached out to other engineer commands to either sustain or train units to capitalize on this self-development opportunity. The Engineer School also has reached out to brief soldiers at NCO academies at other posts around the Army.

To potentially add trades for soldiers, the Army should task each proponent to review its program of instruction. This review will require analysis through the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship’s approved occupations for registered apprenticeship.

The Office of Apprenticeship, which oversees the National Registered Apprenticeship System, has 3,001 approved apprenticeship occupations, but only 96 trades for the Army in USMAP. Acceptance of more registered military apprentices and skilled craft workers by private industry would enhance employment opportunities for military veterans, motivate military personnel to advance within their occupational specialties while on active duty, and provide a source of skilled personnel to meet national skilled workforce requirements.

USMAP also needs an installation manager at every Army post whose duties would entail reporting, marketing and teaching units how to use the program.

Applying these recommendations and fully implementing this program across the Army could help with recruiting and retention, and it also would strengthen American industry with the skilled labor the U.S. needs to meet future challenges.

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Sgt. 1st Class Seth Childers is the credentialing manager for the U.S. Army Engineer School, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Previously, he was the bridging NCO in charge for the Directorate of Training and Leader Development, Army Engineer School. He deployed twice to Iraq.