Veterans work | Recognising the potential of ex-service personnel
Conclusion: Recognising the potential
“ Good transition is important for the country. Having invested heavily in the training and development of individuals over months or years, the public can expect the Forces to ensure that those individuals are in a position to be net contributors to society not just during their Service career but when they leave.” Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC56
For many businesses and other employers, the imperative to recruit veterans is often driven by a simple desire to recognise the deeds and sacrifices that members of the armed forces have made on their behalf. For the minority of businesses who go out of their way to hire service leavers and others from the veteran community, the view is typically more nuanced: employing veterans is as much a means of improving organisational productivity and performance as it is a means of meeting obligations of social responsibility. Where veterans are in the foreground rather than the background of an employer’s recruitment policy, it is often because it reflects the importance that this organisation places on getting hold of critical skills, especially the qualities of leadership, motivation, determination, loyalty, problem-solving, communication, teamworking and time-management that are becoming harder to find in the jobs market. As it becomes increasingly clear that the UK’s post-Brexit, knowledge-based economy will depend upon an increasing supply of these essential skills, there is a growing expectation that larger numbers of businesses will choose to employ veterans. However, Deloitte’s new study highlights a number of difficulties in achieving this goal. Foremost among these is that despite ongoing efforts to improve awareness of veterans’ skills, negative perceptions and stereotypes remain deeply entrenched in the business community. Furthermore, despite the potentially many years of service, substantial numbers of veterans lack educational qualifications beyond GCSE or A-Level as well as professional qualifications or industry knowledge. As a consequence, access to high-skilled employment remains patchy and uneven among service leavers, who typically fall back on lower-skilled jobs, like
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driving heavy goods vehicles and security guarding, or occupations in the skilled trades. If this situation persists, a disproportionate number of veterans’ jobs may be vulnerable to automation as new technologies are introduced by businesses in the future. Moreover, transition support service providers as well as veterans, themselves, can be tempted to focus on the translatable technical skills and vocational qualifications they think employers are looking for rather than the broader set of transferable skills they have acquired. Although this lessens the immediate complexities of transition, it reduces the benefits that could be accruing to individuals and businesses, alike, over the longer term. The evidence suggests that it then takes years for veterans to develop further the confidence, networks, educational qualifications and experience necessary to make further transitions through occupations. They may not recognise that this self-enforced adaptation and upskilling keeps them ahead in the race against the smart machines, but the fact that they are capable of and sufficiently motivated to do so say speaks volumes for the resilience, flexibility and determination of members of the UK’s armed forces. In The Veterans’ Transition Review, Lord Ashcroft noted that, “The Armed Forces offer what amounts to Britain’s biggest and best apprenticeship scheme. Moreover, no other institution does so much directly to promote merit-based social mobility on such a large scale; recruits who often come from difficult backgrounds in deprived areas are equipped for extraordinary lives and careers.”57 Such statements are more than just rhetoric. They recognise the huge potential and benefits that exist for businesses when they recruit and develop people from the veteran community.
