ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has launched a Web site to help sailors match their skill set with civilian credentials.
Navy Credential Opportunities On-Line tells sailors what civilian credentials match their ratings, what requirements they need to fulfill for those credentials, and what financial assistance is available to them, said Capt. Kevin Hooley.
Hooley is commanding officer for the Center for Information Dominance, Corry Station at Pensacola, Fla.
To help match sailors and civilian credentials, the Navy has detailed analysises of the tasks, function and duty of each of the roughly 70 ratings for enlisted sailors, Hooley said.
The Navy plans to add officer’s designators and Navy civilian specialties to the site as soon as it has similar analyses, according to the Navy.
The web site was developed by cross checking the information on what sailors do with lists of civilian credentials from the Department of Labor, according to the Navy.
The Navy COOL web site finds commonalities, such as that a sailor with an information technology rating may qualify as a Microsoft Certified Professional, Hooley said.
Furthermore, the Web site tells sailors how to use the Montgomery GI Bill and other available sources of funding to pay for the classes needed to attain the civilian certification, he said.
And next year, the site will tell sailors which civilian credentials they are 80 percent qualified to get, based on their skill sets, Hooley said.
It will also tell sailors which classes they need to take to get the credential and how to get a voucher to pay for the exam needed to get certification, he said.
While the Web site allows sailors to accumulate civilian credentials, it is not targeted to sailors leaving the Navy, Hooley said.
"The primary purpose for this program is not job transition. It is to continue the professional development of our sailors," he said.
Getting civilian credentials shows that sailors have self-motivation to expand their résumé," which normally puts them to the front of the pack with their contemporaries and their peers and it helps with their professional advancement," he said.
For more information go to: https://www.cool.navy.mil.
