Maximum education benefit of $4,000 with an annual fiscal year cap of $2,000 to assist eligible military spouses who need professional credentials to meet their portable career goals.
Each spouse must request MyCAA financial assistance (FA) on a course-by-course basis. FA must be requested no more than 60 days prior to the course start date.
To help you pursue gainful employment in a portable MyCAA approved career field and occupation of your choosing, follow these few steps:
Step 1 - Prior to requesting My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) financial assistance (FA), work with us to develop an Education and Training Plan (E&TP) for you.
Step 2 - Before any funding can be approved, you will upload the E&TP (PDF format) through your MyCAA Account for review.
Step 3 - Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program staff will review the plan.
Note: Decisions on the approval or disapproval of these plans can take up to 14 calendar days and may require the spouse to consult with a SECO Career Coach.
SECO Rule: "Length" rule states "courses may not exceed 12 months (18 months for certificate programs)".
Step 4 - You will receive a notice through your MyCAA account when your plan has either been approved or deferred.
Step 5 - Our MyCAA Technician will retrieve the FA document from the AI Portal and review for errors before enrolling you into the online program.
Step 6 - Complete an Enrollment Request Form.
If you should have any questions, submit request for information or contact:
Helpful External References:
My Career Advancement Account Scholarship
How to Avoid Common Pitfalls with MyCAA
SECO YouTube (This video is geared towards Military Spouses and Service Members. There is a large scope of services offered to military spouses to assist them as they identify and navigate a career path while being required to relocate often in support of their service member spouse.)
It is a one-stop for airmen to explore credentials recognized by the civilian community that can enhance airmen's current performance in their Air Force job as well as help prepare for civilian employment. Visit AF COOL site for details.
It allows active duty enlisted Airmen to obtain unlimited primary 5-skill level AFSC related credentials. Also, the program offers leadership/management credentials for SNCOs.
It can be used to:
Gain professional recognition for your training and experience.
Army COOL helps Army Service Members find information on certifications and licenses related to their jobs. Use COOL to get background information on credentialing and find detailed information on:
The Army, DOD, and VA are working with traditional and non-traditional training sites (schools, trade schools, corporate entities, tech organizations, and others) to meet the growing needs of training career ready military members as they transition. CA = Credentialing Assistance.
You do not necessarily need to pursue credentialing, but having a credential may still give you an advantage.
Army COOL focuses on MOS match transition and mapping.
Army COOL focuses on outside funding for certain credentials.
Army COOL is an advising tool for all (soldiers, institutions, credentialing agencies, employers, etc.).
OPPORTUNITY 1
Funding Option 1. COOL (Credentialing Opportunities On-Line)
Funding Option 2. Lean Six Sigma
OPPORTUNITY 2
The Credentialing Assistance (CA) program allows Soldiers to formally associate their training and experience to a wide variety of industry-recognized certifications, which in turn will enhance the professionalism of service and better prepare Service Members for eventual post-military employment.
The military services encourages agencies to attain accreditation of their certification programs as it will help ensure that the credential programs utilized by service members have met a baseline standard.
We have the following career training programs that are National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accredited:
