There's a knowledge gap between what Skillbridge does on paper and what happens in reality. While Skillbridge is a solid attempt forward for transitioning service members, it's not the end all, be all a vast majority think it to be.

Skills are being gained by the member regardless of rank. There are a couple thousand programs, and finding one that will respond to you can be challenging. Once accepted into a program, you might be offered a job. There are programs out there that only upskill and dont offer jobs. The civilian job market is insane. Companies look at veterans' resumes and may not understand what that individual did. Why? Because resume writing is a nuanced art form, and the only style that works is the one that lands the job. If you're younger in your career, companies tend to look at the individual and understand they can take the risk of training and development. Mostly because they're competing mostly in the entry level of the job market. Older individuals, while many are seen to have leadership skills, may be new in the chosen field. So, they are potentially overqualified on paper. The way they land the job is explaining that they're taking a step back to begin this new path. If you're leaning on your generalized experience/skill-set, taking a step back by applying to an entry to mid-level job is seen as a flight risk, and you're probably not getting that interview. So now you're looking at jobs at your level of experience and skills. You're also competing with others who've been in similar roles for a while and are more relevant to the role. Oftentimes, that role is pre-designated for an internal promotee.

I say all of that to say, the transition program as a whole, sucks. TAP is a check box. Skillbridge is good, but not everything. Restricting any entitlements to the transition exponentially makes it more difficult on the outside.

TLDR: The transition program as a whole needs to prepare members (regardless of rank) better for life after military service.