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AF COOL Roadshow making its way to Scott AFB

  • Published
  • By Airman Daniel Garcia
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Scott Air Force Base will host the Air Force Credentialing Opportunities On-Line 2016 Roadshow Tour on June 6 at the base library auditorium.

This roadshow will provide two sessions, open to all Team Scott personnel, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The roadshow will be led by Russell Gray, AF COOL director, and his staff. Their goal is to remove confusion surrounding the program and provide the most up-to-date program implementation rules, eligibility and funding options.

The AF COOL program is an addition to the Air Force virtual education center, designed to help Airmen navigate through the various civilian credentialing opportunities available for their careers. The two basic types of credentials are licensure and certification.

Licensure covers government agencies--federal, state, or local--who grant licenses to individuals to practice a specific occupation, such as a medical license for doctors. Licenses are mandatory in most cases.

Certifications are granted by non-government agencies, associations and even private sector companies to grant individuals who meet predetermined qualifications.
These qualifications are commonly set by professional associations or by industry and product-related organizations.

In most cases credentials are optional, although some state licensure boards and some employers actually may require certification.

"Credentialing is important because federal, state or local law may require specific credentials to legally perform some jobs," said Roland Smith, the Scott AFB Education Office manager.

"Employers may choose to hire only employees who have certain credentials, or to pay those employees more.

"Credentialing can contribute to military career development, and may be accepted for self-development requirements in performance evaluations."

The roadshow will help individuals understand credentialing.

Additionally, the AF COOL Roadshow will help them to distinguish the differences between AF COOL and the previous military tuition assistance certification program.

The previous AF Voluntary Education Certification Program consisted of a military tuition assistance one-time certification that could cover any credential as long as it was payable through an accredited academic institution, and no more than $250 per semester hour and maximum of $4,500 a year.

Smith said the AF COOL approach to credentialing aims to ensure the hands-on training experience earned over the course of a military career transfers into highly valued skill sets measured universally by military standards.

Tommie Collins, Scott AFB Education Office education manager, said "The AF COOL Roadshow will be the opportunity for Team Scott members to learn about the new changes and future changes with the AF COOL Program from people with thorough knowledge of the program."

Smith added, "The AF COOL program wants to energize Airmen to benefit from these advantage-driven credentials in order to motivate enlisted members to increase their marketability in the successful recruitment, retention, readiness and eventual transition into the civilian workforce."