Iowa Workforce Development announced Thursday that it was approved to become a third-party administrator for the U.S. Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program – a nationwide initiative that allows service members to spend the last six months of their tours of duty serving in internships at various private businesses. The relationship will allow Iowa employers to bypass the usual Department of Defense process and instead work directly with IWD to start the program within their companies. The Department of Defense estimates that about 200,000 members of the U.S. armed forces leave active military service every year from more than 140 military installations in the United States and abroad. Under the program, the Department of Defense pays a service member’s salary and benefits for up to six months while that person receives on-the-job training at a private employer.