Defence Qualifications Website
The benefits of employing Armed Forces Veterans
The Logistics Industry offers many daily challenges, demanding the ability to assess and respond to changing situations promptly.
Military work requires similar levels of drive, flexibility, vision, and the ability to make quick decisions.
As an Armed Forces Veteran, I’m sometimes frustrated by some businesses’ lack of understanding of the qualities veterans can bring.
Beyond the relevant practical experience (for some), there are 7 key qualities that make ex-military personnel particularly suited to working in the logistics industry:
Accountability
Ex-military personnel have extensive practical experience of leadership, often in the most of circumstances.
We appreciate the importance of clear procedures enabling organisations to function effectively and will readily shoulder accountability to ensure these are adhered to.
Adaptability
The norm in the Armed Forces is to take on a new role every 2 to 3 years; thus, we are adaptable and can pick up things fast. We are not afraid to hit the ground running!
Teamwork
Officers and Warrant Officers’ know how to run teams effectively and how to contribute as team members. In many cases, lives have depended upon our ability to do so.
Contrary to what some hiring managers may think, we excel at orchestrating collaboration rather than simply taking a directive approach.
Task focus
Being told ‘what to do’ and not ‘how to do it’, as the military are, confers a valuable commercial mindset. Things go wrong; the unexpected happens – in business and war.
The military is trained to anticipate this and to get the job done, whatever the difficulties.
Relationship building
People management and managing professional relationships effectively are invaluable skills in any industry.
The ability to effectively influence ‘tricky’ customers is a key transferable trait honed regularly by military deployments to conflict zones.
Integrity
High standards of personal behaviour, appearance, timekeeping, integrity and moral courage are expected of all those who achieve significant rank in the Armed Forces, with annual ‘Values and Standards’ training throughout our military careers.
Cost-effectiveness
Armed Forces Veterans make excellent ‘investment hires’, particularly in providing the leadership potential that some businesses often struggle to find.
These well-developed skills of Armed Forces Veterans can be employed to great effect in the logistics sector, and businesses should do more to recognise what value we have to offer.
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