Excerpts taken from The White House, Office of the Press Secretary on Monday, April 29, 2013.

Today, speaking at the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing, First Lady Michelle Obama will announce the IT Training and Certification Partnership, a new public-private partnership that will enable thousands of service members to earn industry-recognized information technology (IT) certifications before they transition from military service. Today’s announcement builds upon President Obama’s June 2012 announcement of partnerships with the manufacturing sector that enable service members to earn high-demand advanced manufacturing certifications, and the establishment of the Department of Defense’s Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force. Additionally, the event is an extension of the First Lady’s challenge to our Nation’s Governors in February 2013 to take executive or legislative action to help our troops get the credentials they need to successfully transition to the civilian labor market by the end of 2015.

Industry leaders include Cisco Systems, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle, CompTIA, NetApp, HP, Futures Inc., Global Knowledge, GogoTraining and SANS Institute and Global Information Assurance Certification

GogoTraining is providing access to their online self-paced Information Technology training platform to help transitioning military personnel prepare for careers in the private sector. With the help of GogoTraining’s learning platform, experts bring their classroom courses to life online enabling service members to fit training into their schedule while still receiving the same high quality classroom content and support. GogoTraining courses and programs will help exiting personnel prepare for careers in computer programming, database administration, software and mobile application development, and obtain key certifications in areas such as CompTIA and Oracle.