One effective means of obtaining civilian apprenticeship is earning credit while serving in the US Military. The Armed Forces allows nearly 50 percent of the requirements for civilian apprenticeship. For years a person could serve in the military doing a job or occupation and at the end of their military career they would have nothing. The U.S. Military Apprenticeship Training program, or USMAP is a formalized training program that takes full advantage of occupational military job training.
The program of USMAP apprenticeship not only can earn you a Department of Labor certificate of completion, but it has gained acceptance on the part of civilian employers. The Department of Labor awards a nationally recognized ?Certificate of Completion,? to candidates that successfully complete the program. It allows and supports credit for education, in the form of college level credit, as well as job occupational credit that can be used in the civilian world. The qualifications for the USMAPS program are simple; your rating or job has to be on the approved apprenticeship program list, be serving in your primary job at your command, you have to possess a GED or high school degree, and you have to have all the required documentation completed. Senior Officials in the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, along with members of Congress, the Department of Labor, Department of Defense have worked together to create the USMAP apprenticeship credit program. You also have to be serving on active duty, and have time to complete the program of apprenticeship while still serving on active duty. Once you are involved in the USMAPS program you can even sometimes grandfather in other vocational military experience and receive credit for them. This may seem like a lot, but in actuality it just means you have to serve in a job that qualifies for the program, and have a high school diploma.
Major employers all over the country view the mere participation in the program favorably; even employers overseas seek former military Servicemembers from this program. The USMAP program does not require any off duty hours and it can be used for up to one half of the on the job program training hours requirement in a civilian apprenticeship programs.