United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP)

United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP)United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP)Military experience is an outstanding resume-builder if you know how to sell it, but everyones looking for that extra edge - something they can back up with certificates and credentials. One option for sailors and Marines (and the Coast Guard) is the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), a partnership between the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the military that lets service members use their on-duty experience to earn journeyman status in a trade. Requirements Designed as an on-the-job training tool, USMAP is only for active duty members of the Navy, Marine studentencorps, and Coast Guard who already have a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) or rating, a high school diploma or GED, and enough time on their enlistment contract to schliff an apprenticeship. Because theyre not employed full-time in a MOS, reservists, unfortunately, cannot participate in USMAP although they could still find civilian apprenticeships on their own (more on that later.) Because USMAP is intended to give servicemembers a leg up using their actual military experience, you need to have a MOS/rating (or an official duty assignment outside your MOS) that corresponds to a journeyman trade. (In other words, an infantryman cant enroll for a construction apprenticeship just because thats the job he wants after the military - unless hes assigned to official and regular duties, outside his MOS, working in construction.) Heres an example that could work As a career planner in the Marine Corps, Joe was also assigned as the commands local photographer for portraits and public relations shots. With some creative thinking and some off-duty education, Joe might have got himself an apprenticeship in photography normally only available to combat camera operators. The downside? Since USMAP only allows one apprenticeship at a time, hed have gambled away his shot at a human resources certificate relevant to his actual MOS. Eligible Occupations USMAPs Self-Service website offers a convenient list of eligible MOS and ratings that are not only staggering in size but surprising in some of the fields it covers. For the sake of brevity, heres a count of the Navy and Marine occupational fields that arent covered by USMAP Musicians (MU/5500) and air traffic controllers (AC/7200) in either branch.In the Navy, there are no USMAP apprenticeships for Interpretive Cryptologic Technicians (CTI) or Navy Divers (ND).In the Marines, Infantry (0300), Training (0900), Tank and Amphibious Assault Vehicles Operators (1800), Linguists (2700), Chemical/Biological/Radioactive/Nuclear Technicians (5700), and Flight Crews (7300) have no journeyman equivalent. A Few Surprises While it seems USMAP excludes all direct-combat jobs like infantry for the presumed reason that they have no equivalent civilian trade I found a few interesting exceptions Special Warfare Op erators (SO) aka Navy Seals are actually eligible, at grade E-7 and above, for an apprenticeship as a Master Homeland Security Specialist if theyre officially assigned the Navy Enlisted Classification Code (NEC) for Disaster Preparedness Operations and Training Specialist (9598) or Anti-Terrorism Training Supervisor Instructor (9501).The Marine Corps artillery occupational field (0800) actually has a few journeyman equivalents Cannoneers (0811) can apprentice as government service ordnance artificers, Fire Controllers (0844) as surveyor assistants, and Sensor Support Techs (0847) as weather observers. Education USMAP claims that it requires no off-duty hours, but you do need to log 144 hours of formal training for every 2,000 hours (about a year) of apprenticeship work. Fortunately, formal military training for your job can knock a lot of that out in the beginning, and even relevant correspondence courses such as those offered by the Marine Corps Institute (which can also boo st promotion potential) count toward the requirement. The worst-case scenario is, of course, having to take off-duty courses using tuition assistance or the GI Bill. But a little education never hurt anyone. Other Apprenticeship Programs Theres a conspicuous lack of information out there regarding apprenticeship programs for the Army, although a program has popped up in the past few years to help soldiers in the Army Reserve and National Guard. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, veterans may also be eligible for payments to support vocational, technical, and on-the-job training. However, these (with the exception of GAPI) are not military-sponsored programsand are not necessarily apprenticeships. To become a journeyman this way, youd still have to seek out, apply for, and gain acceptance to an apprenticeship program sponsored by a civilian employer that incorporates vocational training approved for GI Bill payments. Unfortunately, working a civilian apprenticeship opens up the possibi lity of being paid less than minimum wage, not to mention working outside the uniquely supportive environment of the military.