(This applies to current CAF members who are OTing/CTing/doing whatever career move that requires the use of the PLAR system. I have no experience with PLARs for applicants/new recruits.)
Reference:
DAOD 5031-1
As I posted here earlier, I’ve recently gone through the VOT process from combat arms to RMS Clk. I’ve been combat arms for 6 years but working out of trade for the last 2. A big part of my VOT was the prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) process. My experience resulted in having all of RMS Clk QL3 written off. However, each case is unique and you need to justify why your experience counts.
There was A LOT of confusion about this program and how it works, including here on the forums. I thought I would provide a few tips learned through my experience:
1. Read the DAOD referenced above.
2. The purpose of a PLA is to recognize
ANY relevant training, experience, or knowledge gained outside of the military in accordance with ANY formal military courses. If you think your secret weekend ninja gig qualifies you for your underwater ninja knife-fighting course, request it. If you think your part-time mechanic job might qualify you towards being a Vehicle Tech, request it. If you think working at McDonald’s means you might have some credit towards being a Cook, request it. Point being, if you don’t ask you won’t know.
3. You DO NOT need to have 100% of the experience you’d get on a course in order to have that course written off. The CAF is willing to accept a “reasonable risk” that does not impact safety or legal requirements if you have completed at least 70% of the course’s experience. The CAF is willing to give you the remaining 30% through OJT/your home unit/training at another unit. In this current budget-constrained environment, you can bet the CAF is going to be very sympathetic when it comes to defining “risk” to keep members at home and avoid having to send them on TD for several months.
4. PLAR is NOT a home unit chain of command decision. No, your Section Commander/Platoon WO/Chief Clerk etc. DO NOT determine your PLAR results. If your Section Commander unilaterally shuts down your PLAR request because “you can’t do that,” they don’t know what they’re talking about.
5. Where your home unit chain of command does come into play is in verifying your request. Just because you say “I worked in the Orderly Room doing releases for six months” doesn’t mean anything.
Prove it. “Proof” can include:
a. Letters of recommendation
b. Supporting letters from your CO/chain of command
c. Terms of reference
d. Your MPRR (to the extent that you were in a position for a certain number of days)
e. Course certificates/reports
f. PERs/PDRs from being in that position
g. Samples of work
Now, here’s what you need to do:
1. Learn your occupation’s managing authority. This is usually an L2 organization and is the ONLY cell that has the ability to PLAR your experience. For support trades, it’s CDA.
2. Find the training plan for your course.
3. From the training plan, you will be able to determine the course’s POs and EOs. For example, you need to find:
PO 001: do stuff
PO 002: do things
PO 003: get creative
PO 004: lead PT
PO 005: spell your name correctly
4. This is what the course “is.” Now you need to equate your experience with what the course is. It’s easiest to do this through a table that clearly breaks down your experience within that specific PO.
5. Ideally, if you’re OTing, your PLAR is completed and back to you BEFORE you ACCEPT a VOT. Part of the VOT application is “PLAR results” which means you should know those results. However, a PLAR can be requested at any time.
6. Be specific. Do not bullshit, but also realize that you probably have experience you don’t even think about. The person sitting down to look at your file does this every day and does not know you personally. They are not about to ask you for more information or ask what you mean if something is unclear – they will simply reject your PLAR for lack of substantiation. It is YOUR job to prove your experience. Have you been a grocery store cashier? Do you have a driver’s licence? Were you on a university school council? Do you write for your school’s monthly newsletter? What did you do in these positions?
7. Include dates. How long was your experience? One day? A week? Two months? Ten years?
8. Now you probably have a big fat file of everything from your BMQ course report to the painting you did for Mother’s Day in grade 3. Great. This file goes to your chain of command for them to verify for your experience (see above). They may write a letter for the CO to sign that verifies your experience and recommends your PLAR be accepted, or they may only make sure you’re not BSing about being a JTF2 assaulter on weekends. Or they may say nothing, and submit it for processing.
Electronically copy everything before it goes up your chain of command.
9. Now you wait. Your Chief Clk should be sending everything directly to the managing authority; electronically is the new trend because these PLARs can be several hundred pages (depending on the request) and mail is expensive. I’d say three weeks is a reasonable period to wait after submitting your PLAR to the Chief Clk before asking if they received a response.
10. Eventually, you will receive a letter from the managing authority that says “Congratulations, you’ve been granted xxx qualification” or “Sorry, the documents provided do not prove you have the experience for your underwater knife-fighter qualification.”
I hope this helps. If anyone has any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.
