Ed’s Column

Ed Says - VRRAP

Can the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP) Help You?

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“Over the last few years, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has created and launched some truly innovative and responsive programs to help veterans transition into meaningful civilian careers.”

In 2014, the VBA launched the Veterans Accelerated Learning Program pilot program, to launch IT Careers for Veterans of every generation. TLG Learning was proud to be one of 5 companies across the country to pilot the program, and while there were lots of challenges, the VA used the insight provided by industry leaders and education innovators to maximize the impact for Veterans and Transitioning Servicemembers in the new Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) program launched in 2019.  

This year, the budget for the program was significantly increased, and eligibility was extended to transitioning service members within 180 days of separating from active duty. While this program requires that the participant is eligible for GI Bill® benefits, it does not charge the actual GI Bill® funds, letting veterans save them for later. 

For veterans and transitioning service members looking to launch an IT career – this should be the first stop. If you are a veteran or transitioning service member wanting to start or advance your career in the Information Technology industry,  let’s see if you’re eligible.  

VRRAP (not to be confused with VRAP!) 

The latest new program is the reinvented Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP). If the name sounds familiar, it should – the old Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), was an extension of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act signed into law by President Obama. While VRAP expired several years ago, the framework it created allowed the updated VRRAP program to be launched extremely quickly in response to veterans who have become unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike VET TEC, VRRAP applies to over 200 high-demand career fields. 

One of the most exciting things about this program is that it addresses many veterans who don’t have benefits such as the GI Bill®, specifically, those veterans who are: 

  • Not eligible for GI Bill® or VR&E benefits (or, if eligible for the Post- 9/11 GI Bill®, have transferred all benefits to family members) 
  • Not rated as totally disabled 
  • Not enrolled in federal or state job programs 
  • Not receiving unemployment benefits (including CARES Act benefits) 

If you’re eligible, don’t sit on this benefit, you should be jumping on this now! According to National Employment Director Jeff Hall. “VRRAP is only active for 21 months or until funding runs out.” 

Find out if you’re eligible and how to apply to Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP) 

These are the programs offered by TLG Learning under VRRAP: 

The Best VA Benefit For You

The Best VA Benefit You Didn’t Know You Had

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“I recently attended the Hiring Our Heroes Career Fair at JBLM, and although I was a little apprehensive about attending this live event, it was extremely well managed. My biggest surprise while attending was how few people had heard of the VET TEC program, which is why I am writing this blog.“

Back in 2017, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115 48), otherwise known as the Forever GI Bill®, was signed into law. The bill had many far-reaching changes to GI Bill® benefits. A little-noticed, but powerful provision was the creation of a High Technology pilot program. This program was finally announced in April of 2019, as the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) program. It is an amazing benefit that allows veterans to get into fast-track programs leading to IT Careers, without using their GI Bill® benefits! Besides providing funding for tuition costs, the program provides a monthly stipend equivalent to the monthly housing allowance from the GI Bill®.

Hiring Our Heroes Career Fair at JBLM

Unlike programs approved under the GI Bill®, the VA made accountability of the training providers a central component of VET TEC. Training providers program must not only demonstrate a history of high program completions and placement into employment, they must walk their talk. In order to be reimbursed by the VA, students must not only graduate from the program, but they must also gain successful employment. And while regular training providers will receive at least partial payment for graduates who don’t gain employment – *A provider is considered “preferred” if the training facility agrees to refund tuition and fees if a student doesn’t find meaningful employment within 180 days of completing the program. THAT is walking the talk! And I’m very proud to announce that TLG is a preferred provider.

However, unlike the GI Bill, this pilot program is more limited in who can participate.

  • Only veterans are eligible – which means you cannot still be on active duty, and spouses or children (recipients of Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) benefits, and Fry Scholars) are not eligible (although we all hope this may change in the future).
  • Members of the guard and reserve are eligible.
  • Veterans must also be eligible for GI Bill® benefits and have at least one day of unexpired GI Bill® entitlement remaining to be eligible for VET TEC.
  • Students must be accepted by the training provider – providers have varying acceptance criteria – so you must apply to the provider as well as with the VA.

For those who are not eligible for VET TEC, most of the VET TEC programs are also eligible for GI Bill® or VRE funding, and you’ll have the added benefit of knowing that these programs are truly employment-oriented, not just training oriented.

The program has been so popular that the VA has run out of funds for this fiscal year – but new funding will be available on 1 October 2020. If you are at all interested, I would encourage you to apply as soon as you can, to make sure you will have access to funding.

This is just a brief overview, but you can find complete information, including how to apply here: https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/vettec-high-tech-program/

If you’d like to discuss, you can use this link to schedule time with staff from TLG!

Here is an example of one of our recent graduates using the VET TEC to enroll in TLG’s programs: Rubi Reeser.

Ed Says - What IT Cert_

What IT Certification Should You Pursue?

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“While this is a highly individualized decision, there is no one best certification for everyone in every situation.”

The quick answer is that there is no one best certification for everyone in every situation. The best certification for you will depend not only on what you’ve done but also on where you want to go. When a recruiter looks at your certifications, for better or worse, they will define where you have decided to put your energies, and where your expertise lies.

This might also be a good time to mention that there is a HUGE difference a certificate and certification – but that will be a subject for a future blog.

The first decision to make is whether to go the route of a vendor-neutral, or vendor-specific certification. Both have their pluses and minuses. For vendor-neutral certifications, CompTIA dominates because they span many technologies, across many levels. These certifications will have the broadest appeal across most companies and job categories.

On the other hand, certain vendor-specific certifications are very well recognized and can be the key to certain IT positions. Microsoft, Amazon, and Cisco certifications have well-earned recognition and reputation – but only for employers using those specific technologies. And each vendor also has further specialization based on a specific technology. For example, just a few of the Microsoft technologies include Azure, Windows Server, Power BI , and SQL Server. Choosing a specific vendor and specific technology means narrower focus – but more impact.

Most certifications also have varying levels which demonstrate your level of specialization and expertise or mastery. It should be pretty obvious that the higher the level, the greater the impact, but the greater the commitment in time and money on your part.

The point of this is that there isn’t anyone single best answer for everyone. But if it was me looking for a single certification to pursue, here’s what I’d look for:

  • technology on the upswing with lots of growth, with “legs”
  • what are employers looking for
  • field that isn’t over saturated
  • fast track to certification

My highly opinionated conclusion – it would be hard to find a better certification than the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate. And there’s plenty of third-party validation of this:

10 Highest-Paying IT Certifications for Tech Pros
5 Best Cloud Certifications 2019

This is an associate-level certification with the widest breadth of AWS services coverage. It’s also one of the most popular because it acts as a starting point for many professionals looking to dive into the world of AWS certifications. One of the reasons for its popularity – instead of being super specific to one area or domain of platform, it has a wide overview, which means that training for it provides a fantastic introduction to what the AWS platform is capable of.

I’m going to shamelessly put in a little plug here for the TLG AWS Certified Solutions Architect Accelerated Learning Program. Obviously I’m more than a little biased – but I think it stands head and shoulders above others as the best way to get this certification. Email me at edc@tlglearning.com if you’d like to chat about why.

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