ICE Executive Director Denise Roosendaal and Operations Manager Liz Grater attended a national credentialing summit in Washington, DC February 22-23 co-hosted by The American Legion National Economic Commission and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring our Heroes Veterans Employment Initiative.  The two-day summit focused on credentialing and licensure challenges affecting the employment of military spouses, veterans, and National Guard and Reserve members.  The first day featured panelists who covered a range of existing initiatives to assist service members with employment as they transition back to civilian life and discussed the challenges those veterans face in translating their military skills to civilian credentials.  Representatives from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps each discussed their own credentialing initiatives and areas for collaboration and cross-communication.

Day two focused more specifically on credentialing and licensure including addressing the role of the workforce system in promoting licensure and certification of service members and veterans.  Similar to transitioning service members, military spouses face a unique set of employment challenges. This was a topic discussed by a panel referencing a report from February 2012 and offers best practices for streamlining licensure across states.  For an overview of that report, please click here.

In addition, Peg Harrison, MS, RN, CPNP, Chief Executive Officer of the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB), an ICE member, was part of a panel entitled “Ensuring the Quality of Credentials” that discussed the key elements of a certification program versus a certificate program and conveyed the value of third-party accreditation of these programs.

“This summit did a great job highlighting the various efforts that are already out there for assisting our military veterans returning to civilian life,” said Roosendaal.  “There’s been a tremendous amount of networking and idea sharing, and I’m excited about the potential role for ICE to play in connecting its members with the various opportunities that exist for certification and licensure of veterans.”

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides opportunities for veterans to receive reimbursement for education and certification. However, veterans can only apply these benefits to licensing or certification exams that are approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ICE encourages members who offer certification programs to seek VA approval for their exams.  If you represent a state or local licensing board, the approval requirements are minimal. If you represent a non-governmental organization, your test must be generally accepted within the industry, have been in existence at least two years, and must meet other requirements.

Click here to learn more if your organization is interested in seeking VA approval.