Navy footing bill for civilian certifications

[unhappycamper]

Sailors in many ratings, such as aviation structural mechanic, can use the Navy's year-old Credentialing Opportunities OnLine, or Navy COOL, Web site, to find civilian certification programs that qualify for Navy payment.


Navy footing bill for civilian certifications
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Oct 21, 2007 18:03:17 EDT

Used to be, if a sailor wanted to earn a civilian certification to set himself up for a high-paying job after the Navy, he’d have to pay out of pocket or pull from his education benefits to get it.

Now, the Navy is footing the bill.

The new plan went into effect Sept. 6, with the approval of OpNav Instruction 1540.56 by Vice Adm. John Harvey, the Navy’s chief of personnel.

The news is the latest bit of business for the Navy’s year-old Credentialing Opportunities OnLine, or Navy COOL, Web site, which is dedicated to outlining every credential available to sailors by rating or skill.

But, as always, there’s a catch. To qualify for Navy money, the specific certification must be deemed 80 percent compatible with a Navy rating. That detail is expected to be announced in a soon-to-be-released naval administrative message along with other “business rules” for the program.

Currently, 1,531 of the more than 5,000 separate certifications on the Navy COOL Web site qualify for Navy payment. That number is expected to grow, said Capt. Connie Frizzell, commanding officer of the Center for Information Dominance at Corry Station in Pensacola, Fla.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/navy_freecertifications_071021w/



uhc comment: Imagine my surprise when I went to the web site & saw there's a certification for a civilian Special Operations type.