Over the past 5 years many service men and women have found themselves out of full time work as military budgets are cut. But qualities and specific military skills learnt on the front line have put them at the front of the queue when looking for civilian work.
20,000 military jobs have been cut over the last 5 years as the government struggles to balance its books. As regiments are merged or dissolved, this has left many ex-army, navy and air force workers looking for new work. They are ideally suited to sectors like construction and transport due to the training and experience many of them have had in their previous roles.
“These are very highly skilled people,” says Charlotte Gallagher of employment experts P3 People Management. “They tend to show good judgement and fantastic leadership qualities as well as bringing with them knowledge that they’ve learnt in the field.”
Civilian employers are now racing to make use of ex-military personnel. Since 2013, Logistics firm DHL have been actively pursuing ex-squaddies to make up for a shortfall of licenced HGV drivers. Their Military Employability Programme is seen as a successful template of how to fill a skills shortage, with many employers looking to follow their lead.
“We work with lots of companies who are looking to make better use of the skills that ex-military people bring to the table,” continues Charlotte. “Military training in electronics, mechanics, strategy and energy, along with the experience that goes with it, makes service personnel highly desirable. For a firm as big as DHL to be chasing after these people shows just how valuable they are.”
In December, the employment site Monster.com won an award for software that helps connect military veterans with job opportunities, having realised that many ex-services workers are unaware of the value of their military skills.
With more MOD cuts in the pipeline, it is hoped that more businesses will take advantage of those skills.
Contact Charlotte Gallagher about developing your construction team on 0161 941 2426
