Ex-service, experienced – and ready to work
Being an ex can be a good thing. Ex-service people are experienced and ready to join your organisation.
That’s the message of a national campaign now under way to promote the benefits of employing veterans in the civilian workplace.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is an incredible training ground. Veterans develop a skillset in the ADF that is difficult to obtain and expensive to cultivate in new employees.
Veterans can bring valuable skills to any workplace or industry – skills like leadership, teamwork, agility and the ability to work well under pressure. Many of these skills and capabilities are readily transferrable to the civilian workforce.
This campaign aims to educate employers on the diversity of skills veterans can bring and provide the necessary advice to make sure they are set up to thrive. It highlights the advantages of employing veterans, including through the stories of 5 former ADF members in workplaces and professions you might not expect.
One of them is chef Sam Green, who has thrived in the heat of all kinds of kitchens, from Air Force mess halls to high-end restaurants. After leaving the armed forces to be closer to her family, she started work with a large Australian food and support services company, and found that her skills were very transferable.
‘I spent more than three years in the Air Force, where I received excellent training to operate a bulk food service, and found a vocation I loved,’ Sam says. ‘I was the chef supervisor at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and that was very similar to mining, and basically identical to the work when I was in the RAAF.
‘I thrive on having a chain of command. I think being able to work within that structure is really important.’
The campaign is part of the $24 million Veteran Employment Program, which delivers initiatives that support Australian organisations to improve employment outcomes for veterans. The response has exceeded all expectations, with the online videos viewed 55 million times by the end of July.
Employers – ex-service people excel at what they do. Learn how and where to connect with the veteran talent pool and find advice to help you create a workplace where veterans perform at their best, at www.veteransemployment.gov.au.
The campaign is running nationally and includes newspaper and magazine, radio and television ads, online videos and much more. Keep an eye out!