Changes to TAP

The Obama Administration announced major changes to the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) which was established to meet the needs of separating military service members during their period of transition into civilian life by offering job-search assistance and other related services.

Currently the program includes a three-day workshop where transitioning service members learn about job searches, career decision-making, current occupational and labor market conditions and effective interviewing techniques.

During a joint hearing House Committees on Veterans Affairs and the Armed Services, Committee members agreed that while expanding transition sessions from three days to five days demonstrated a step in the right direction, military members still should receive greater assistance.The transition program is altered is several key areas. The program will no longer be called the "Transition Assistance Program", it will now be known as "Transition GPS". Key programmatic changes include:

• Individualized Assessments and Counseling: Service members will meet one on one with specialists to complete needs and goals assessments and also receive individualized educational and job training resources specific to the interests of a transitioning service member.
• Core and Career Specific Curriculum: Transition GPS will consist of a five-day core curriculum, which all service members will complete. The Transition GPS program will be comprised of a redesigned employment workshop, as well as a Military Occupational Code Crosswalk to assist service members to translate their military experience to comparable civilian skills and occupations. Service members will also have the option of participating in two additional days of career-specific training on three tracks: a higher education track for those pursuing college degrees, a technical and skills training track for those looking to gain technical training or industry licenses and credentials and an entrepreneurship track for those members wanting to start a business.
• Continuous Transition Training: The new transition program will provide career readiness earlier in the tenure of a service member’s career in the military by providing access to resources to build skills or gain credentials while still in the military.

Transition GPS is planned to be implemented with all the programmatic changes announced this week by the end of 2013 throughout all branches of the military.