MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Service members can acquire the necessary skills and certification for a trade in the civilian workforce with the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program.
From auto mechanic to graphic designer, the program assists personnel in a variety of military occupational specialties for the development of career skills.
"In just about any job in the civilian world nowadays, a person has to start out with a certification in order to progress in that occupation," said Dr. Vicki Braun, acting director of the Station's Lifelong Learning Center. "When Marines working in an military occupational specialty, which provides a lot of the necessary experience, leave the Corps, they can already have that certificate in their hand. That is very valuable because it means they are not going to have to go back and work all those hours required to get certified."
The USMAP is a formal system that combines on-the-job training with related technical instruction. It produces occupational specialists who are competent in all aspects of their trade, and is an entry point for a long-lasting career.
Currently, the USMAP is open to active duty Navy, Coast Guard and Marine personnel whose job field contains an authorized apprenticeable trade. Depending on the trade, the length of the apprenticeship may be from one to four years. One hundred forty-four hours of related technical instruction must accompany each year of apprenticeship. A certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship issued by the Department of Labor will be awarded to service members who have fulfilled the requirements.
"We provide individuals with a form to document every single hour of their OJT," said Masaaki Hirayama, Station education specialist. "They are responsible to give to us a progress report every six months."
The report is signed by the service member's senior noncommissioned officer on a weekly basis and once a month by the commanding officer.
"For sergeants or above, we can give preregistration credit for half of their required hours," said Hirayama.
According to Braun, whenever the service member chooses to leave the military, receiving this certification can put them ahead of the game.
"Most employers look for prior military because they know that they have been trained, they have leadership qualities, they have perseverance, and they know how to lead people toward accomplishing the mission," said Braun. "Those are very highly valued qualities in the civilian workforce. To add a certificate to that makes the person that much more valuable."
To find out which occupational specialties offer apprenticeships or to pick up an apprenticeship registration package, visit the education office in room 127 of Building 411. Additional information can be found online at https://www.cnet.navy.mil/usmap/.