(SME: Dearborn MI) -- During the next five years, there will be up to one million military personnel returning to civilian life and getting into the U.S. civilian workforce. Juxtapose this with the 600,000 jobs currently open in advanced manufacturing, and the anticipated need for 10 million skilled workers by 2020, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) sees a “win-win” opportunity for all.

Starting this month, the U.S. Army will begin a pilot project to provide SME industry certifications to validate existing military personnel skills for civilian manufacturing jobs.

This is one of the first actions from the new Department of Defense’s “Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force” recently announced by President Obama.

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