Some call the Department of Defense SkillBridge programs one of the best kept secrets in the military.  Arguably the biggest challenges of servicemembers transitioning is bridging the gap in their skill set to a civilian career field. The SkillBridge program gives a servicemember the opportunity to work and learn in civilian career fields and earn certifications to prepare for the civilian workforce.

The term SkillBridge and Career Skills Program, or CSP, are used interchangeably under the Department of Defense SkillBridge program. This program gives servicemembers opportunity to develop their skills through employment skills training, civilian on the job training, apprenticeships, and internships to prepare for civilian employment.

But choosing the right SkillBridge provider is an important decision, because it not only sets a servicemember on a path toward a career field but also will connect them to a potential employer. With over 400 providers out there, servicemembers need to think hard about choosing the program that is right for them. Below are helpful tips to help them think through that selection process.

Benefits of the SkillBridge Program

There are a number of tremendous benefits the program offers.

1. Service members could be granted up to 180 days of permissive duty to focus solely on training full-time with an approved SkillBridge partner after the unit commander provides written authorization.
2. Servicemembers still receive all of their active duty pay and benefits during the internship or job training.
3. Service members can earn valuable certifications that civilian jobs require and can set their resume apart from others.
4. Upon completion of the SkillBridge program, servicemembers often receive a job offer.  In other words the internship serves as the job interview.
5. The SkillBridge program has flexibility. The servicemember can move home early to conduct a local internship or conduct the internship and training virtually.
6. Transition is a very scary thing for most service members. This is probably one of the top things to do to smooth the transition out of the military and set yourself up for success.

How Servicemembers Choose the Right SkillBridge Program?

1. Which programs offer the career fields that interest you?
Do your homework around what career fields are growing and what providers offer those programs. For example, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families’ Onward To Opportunity (O2O) program offers over 40 no-cost education pathways and launches new ones frequently.

2. Which programs are in a location near your base or near your home of record? Or do you want to conduct the program virtually?
There’s no right or wrong answer to this question. Servicemembers should choose the right career program and then consider location second. Many people like the opportunity to get settled into their next home during this time. So they can hit the ground running with their new civilian career.

3.  Which SkillBridge programs have connections to employers you want to work with?
Some programs are offered by employers and some are from prestigious institutions that have connections to some of the largest employers in America. For example, the IVMF’s Onward To Opportunity (O2O) program is a Cisco Networking Academy giving O2O learners access to an expanded portfolio of learning content available in various formats including courses, challenge labs, and practice exams. This Cisco Networking Academy is a global platform that can be used to inspire O2O, putting theory and hands-on experience into practice. In some cases, your duty status can change to permissive TDY to focus solely on training full-time with these SkillBridge employers.

4. Read reviews on the SkillBridge programs.
Other servicemembers are going to be pretty candid in their review so don’t ignore what they say.  Just because a program is affiliated with the Department of Defense does not mean it is endorsed by DOD. Do your homework.  Some programs are even similar to multi-level marketing programs, so Servicemembers need to be vigilant.

5.  Does the SkillBridge program offer additional benefits and services?
Many providers are not limited to just the skills training and internships. Others like O2O offer a series of courses to guide a transitioning servicemember in key fundamentals of transition out of the military. These “Onward To Your Career” classes are great to learn about successful military transitions. These added benefits should be considered when evaluating a program.

In conclusion, the SkillBridge program is something of which every servicemember should fully take advantage. By following these tips on the selection process servicemembers stand to gain quite a bit to set themselves apart and maximize the benefit of the program as they transition to their civilian career.