OVA Longform

Around 16,000 men and women leave the armed forces each year, making their way to ‘civvy street’ – ordinary civilian life. We look at what veterans have to offer future employers in terms of experience, knowledge and skills

The values taught to service personnel are in part why veterans are considered to be such valuable employees, as highlighted by Chris Recchia, partner and lead for Deloitte’s Military Transition and Talent Programme, who was responsible for working on a 2018 report titled Veterans Work. Recognising the potential of ex-service personnel.

Transferable skills

Veterans are clearly sought after. The employment rates recorded in this report are higher for veterans than for their civilian counterparts'

“A career in the military develops so many important skills, such as resilience, accountability, teamwork and an ability to be trained,” explains The Forces Employment Charity’s chief executive, Alistair Halliday. Military personnel have a tendency to take their skills for granted, because much of what they do in the Forces is expected of them as minimum standards of behaviour. Reliability, meticulous appearance, impeccable timekeeping and time-management are just a few skills military personnel have. Then there is the attention to detail, a strong work ethic, an ability to step back and look at the bigger picture, decision making and staying until a job is completed. But it is often this humble approach that can hinder their ability to recognise these as valuable commodities for a civilian employer.

Why do veterans make such good employees?

95%

Source: deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/about-deloitte-uk/articles/veterans-work

Qualified

In addition to the attributes which come with all forms of military service, there is also an unrivalled opportunity to undertake a plethora of trade and education-related courses. These enable veterans to obtain recognised civilian qualifications and competencies that align with modern workplaces, and which are tested in highly demanding and pressurised situations across the world.

More qualified than you might expect

There are more than 100 specialist trade job roles available in the Forces, including mechanical and electrical engineering, IT, driving, plumbing, medical trades, policing, photography and music. These normally include the opportunity to obtain recognised civilian qualifications and gain membership of professional bodies.

SKILLS

“So many organisations are crying out for these skills, but might not immediately think to look at the veteran community to fill the many roles on offer.”

After serving 11 years in the Royal Army Dental Corps, Celine Woodthorpe went on to work as a teaching assistant before securing a role as a regional coordinator of Early Years Education. Woodthorpe explains that when she left the Army in 2017 she struggled to recognise how her experience of deploying on combat operations could benefit a prospective employer. “It was only when I forced myself to reflect on my whole Army career that I realised how I could contribute to new roles,” recalls the former dental nurse. “Serving in Iraq in 2009 taught me about resilience more than anything else. When you arrive in a war zone you have to learn quickly about getting a job done. You become super-vigilant all the time, even as a dental nurse. It is high pressure and high stress at a level that you cannot even compare with the civilian workplace,” she says.

Work ethic, tenacity and dedication

WORK ETHIC

Working in a hostile environment in a medical capacity involves extra levels of complexity incomparable to its civilian-equivalent healthcare setting, where, along with the added infection risks, personnel could be required to treat any number or types of medical trauma should their base come under attack. “The ability to solve problems and to be aware of health and safety requirements is second nature for a soldier, and being able to change approach and work efficiently and effectively makes a soldier stand out from the crowd,” she explains. “Given my experience on operations, my approach is very calm and focused on reality. There may be stressful situations at work but nobody is going to die – the worst-case scenario is not going to happen,” she concludes.

RESPECT

In addition to combat operations, the UK’s Armed Forces are regularly called upon to support emergency services and humanitarian and disaster relief operations both at home and abroad. Whether by way of logistics, administration, medical or managerial support that may be needed as a result of Covid-19, flooding, terrorist attacks, earthquakes or oil shortages – whatever the situation and irrespective of arm or rank, military personnel are highly motivated and trained to adapt to fast-moving situations. They have the ability to think outside the box and to find creative solutions to complex problems, all of which require mental strength and resilience.

Flexible, open to new ideas and used to fast-paced environments

'A career in the military develops so many important skills, such as resilience, accountability, teamwork and an ability to be trained.'

Significant advancements in robotics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence technologies, coupled with a shift to a more digital way of working, are creating economy gaps that service-leavers are well fitted to fill. The very nature of Armed Forces work demands that staff are trustworthy, can respect confidentiality and are able to handle sensitive information while maintaining operational security. Kath Burgess-Gould from Newport, Wales, served in the Army for 22 years before leaving in April 2021. Starting out as a private soldier in the Staff and Personnel Support branch of the Adjutant General’s Corps, she went on to become an officer, training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before reaching her final rank as a Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Her service included tours of Northern Ireland and Yugoslavia, and being attached to the US Marine Corps during an operational deployment to Afghanistan in 2010-2011. Upon leaving the Army she joined the Barclays-run Armed Forces Transition, Employment & Resettlement (AFTER) programme before commencing employment at the bank, where she stayed for four years. “I realised that I had a number of attributes that were of value to a bank, including a perspective that allows me to deal with stress and pressure in a calm way,” she explains.

“In the Army you have to have a different view of the world to civilians because of the contexts you find yourself in – the pressure of a looming deadline is not the same as being in an operational theatre.” Now working at Metro Bank in the Financial Crime, Risk and Control team, she reflects upon her experiences of leaving the military and joining the banking sector. The former officer explains that service leavers of all ranks will be experienced in handling critical and sensitive information. “As a soldier, being able to deal with important information at speed is ingrained into your bones,” she says. “You need to be able to pick out key aspects of briefings and act on them, often using your own initiative. This is also a vital skill in the business world. The AFTER programme made the transition so much less stressful because it gave me confidence that I had a wide set of skills that were useful to business. “Members of the armed forces are trained to produce an effect. Applying that mind-set in business is very valuable,” she adds. “Serving military personnel and veterans will produce an effect in whichever area we work.”

Trustworthy, respect for confidentiality and sensitive information

I realised that I had a number of attributes that were of value to a bank, including a perspective that allows me to deal with stress and pressure in a calm way'

FLEXIBLE

RFEA’s Chief Executive, Alistair Halliday

Kath Burgess-Gould, Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps

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79%

Organisations agree that veterans have strong oral communication skills

of those questioned said they felt finding a job with a similar skillset was an ‘important’ factor, an indication of a willingness to try a new career

“Veterans are clearly sought after. The employment rates recorded in this report are higher for veterans than for their civilian counterparts,” says Recchia. However, according to The Forces Employment Charity, there is still much work to be done in educating both veterans and prospective employers about the benefits that military experience can offer a workplace.

Celine Woodthorpe, Royal Army Dental Corps

the ability to solve problems and to be aware of health and safety requirements is second nature for soldiers'

of veterans under 30 said the most important factor for them when searching for a civilian job was ‘career progression’. They are less likely to cite location as a primary concern

Source: deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/about-deloitte-uk/articles/veterans-work

From April 2022 organisations employing Service leavers will be able to benefit further from the 12-month National Insurance contribution holiday by applying for relief through PAYE in ‘real time’, while also claiming back retrospectively for relevant contributions paid since April 2021. Anyone who has completed at least one day of basic training in HM Armed Forces is considered a veteran. This relief is available for 12 consecutive months from the veteran’s first day of civilian employment.

‘I have never met a Vet who isn’t reliable, hardworking and an exceptionally good communicator’

Throughout a military career, personnel are constantly required to upskill. This offers a prospective employer someone who is capable of picking up specialist skills and knowledge, who can adapt to new ways of working with technology, along with a broad set of cognitive and social skills. It means prospective employees who have the ability to respond to and deliver orders, who can work alone and collaboratively as part of a team. It means people who have the ability to work on their own initiative – something most job descriptions require but which can prove difficult for many civilians to illustrate as succinctly as those with military experience. And it is clear the whole raft of skills and experiences veterans hold could go a long way into plugging the tremendous gaps across the spectrum of under-resourced industries, with a huge array of untapped talent and resources within the veteran pool to draw upon. Former Logistics Officer Alex Yates served for six years in the RAF before working at Boeing, Babcock and GK9 on a series of Defence contracts. He then moved across to Leidos, where he now works as a programme director, specialising on the LCST programme (Logistics Commodities & Services Transformation). “As a general rule, most people tend to join the military from a young age, and we are now seeing more and more people of a younger demographic now leaving the forces and looking for civilian employment opportunities,” explains Yates. “These are people who are used to shouldering a lot of responsibility, who have undergone incredible physical and mental challenges and been trained to go to some of the most dangerous places in the world,” he says. During his military career, Yates deployed on operations to Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait, where he oversaw the set-up and draw-down of complex communications and IT infrastructure. It’s an experience that contributed towards his passion for advocating employment for veterans in the workplace and saw him placed as the 2020 finalist at the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards for Service Leaver of the Year. “I have worked with so many veterans in the workplace and I have never met one who isn’t reliable, hardworking and an exceptionally good communicator.” “And for a prospective employer, it’s invaluable to know you are going to have someone who won’t shy away from challenges or tight deadlines – whatever challenges they face in a civilian working environment, they will never be as challenging as the conditions they will have faced in the military,” he continues. “The training and experience men and women get from serving in the military offers employers a person who has been hardwired into the way of thinking that nothing less than their best effort is good enough – an ethos they will carry with them for the rest of their working lives.

ith teamwork, versatility, energy and a host of other transferable skills, it is no wonder that more and more employers are realising the benefits of employing service leavers.

Celine Woodthorpe, Royal Army Dental Corps

Businesses who hire veterans in their first year after military service can qualify for National Insurance contributions relief. Search “Employment schemes for veterans” for more information or visit

Kath Burgess-Gould from Newport, Wales, served in the Army for 22 years before leaving in April 2021. Starting out as a private soldier in the Staff and Personnel Support branch of the Adjutant General’s Corps, she went on to become an officer, training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before reaching her final rank as a Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Her service included tours of Northern Ireland and Yugoslavia, and being attached to the US Marine Corps during an operational deployment to Afghanistan in 2010-2011. Upon leaving the Army she joined the Barclays-run Armed Forces Transition, Employment & Resettlement (AFTER) programme before commencing employment at the bank, where she stayed for four years. “I realised that I had a number of attributes that were of value to a bank, including a perspective that allows me to deal with stress and pressure in a calm way,” she explains.

SMES and large organisations agree veterans tend to have lower rates of sickness and absence

79%

95%

Organisations agree when recruiting veterans have strong oral communication