38 U.S.C. § 4114: Credentialing and licensure of veterans: demonstration project

The Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall carry out a demonstration project on credentialing in accordance with this section for the purpose of facilitating the seamless transition of members of the Armed Forces from service on active duty to civilian employment. The Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, select not more than five military occupational specialties for purposes of the demonstration project. Each specialty so selected by the Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall require a skill or set of skills that is required for civilian employment in an industry with high growth or high worker demand. The Assistant Secretary shall enter into a contract with an appropriate entity representing a coalition of State governors to consult with appropriate Federal, State, and industry officials and identify requirements for credentials, certifications, and licenses that require a skill or set of skills required by a military occupational specialty selected under paragraph (1). The Assistant Secretary shall analyze the requirements identified under paragraph (2) to determine which requirements may be satisfied by the skills, training, or experience acquired by members of the Armed Forces with the military occupational specialties selected under paragraph (1). The Assistant Secretary shall cooperate with appropriate Federal, State, and industry officials to reduce or eliminate any barriers to providing a credential, certification, or license to a veteran who acquired any skill, training, or experience while serving as a member of the Armed Forces with a military occupational specialty selected under subsection (b)(1) that satisfies the Federal and State requirements for the credential, certification, or license. The period during which the Assistant Secretary shall carry out the demonstration project under this section shall be the two-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. “This Act may be cited as the ‘Veteran Skills to Jobs Act’. The head of each Federal licensing authority shall consider and may accept, in the case of any individual applying for a license, any relevant training received by such individual while serving as a member of the armed forces, for the purpose of satisfying the requirements for such license. the term ‘license’ means a license, certification, or other grant of permission to engage in a particular activity; the term ‘Federal licensing authority’ means a department, agency, or other entity of the Government having authority to issue a license; the term ‘armed forces’ has the meaning given such term by section 2101(2) of title 5 , United States Code; and the term ‘Government’ means the Government of the United States. with respect to any license a licensing authority grants or is empowered to grant as of the date of enactment of this Act [ July 23, 2012 ], prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out this Act not later than 180 days after such date; and with respect to any license of a licensing authority not constituted or not empowered to grant the license as of the date of enactment of this Act, prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out this Act not later than 180 days after the date on which the agency is so constituted or empowered, as the case may be.”