Your transferable skills as a veteran Careers support for military veterans with a disability
Employability skills are sometimes referred to as transferable skills and employers look for students and graduates who can demonstrate these skills. No matter the industry you’re currently, or have worked in, you will have developed a number of transferable skills that are valuable across multiple roles and many sectors.
This list contains examples of transferable skills and knowledge which you may have gained and developed while serving in the armed forces.
Technical and trained skills:
- IT
- engineering
- written and verbal communication
- project planning
- training others
- critical thinking
- decision making
Interpersonal skills:
- teamwork and team building
- leading, motivating, and inspiring others
- handling work stress
- being dependable and reliable
- ability to focus on detail
- conscientiousness
- ability to negotiate
Veterans have experience of working in and leading and managing teams, they are organised and good at problem solving. They are flexible and able to work in a stressful, fast-paced, dynamic environment. They are dependable, demonstrate a strong work ethic and have the tenacity to consistently complete the work. Veterans display integrity, loyalty and a high degree of professionalism. Veterans are experienced with culturally diverse and global work environments. They have communication skills practised with internal and external stakeholders. They also have knowledge of health and safety, security awareness and best practice.
Sarah Barrett, Project Coordinator at the Forces Employment Charity
A good way to record evidence of your skills is to use a skills audit. You can use the skills examples we've mentioned here and build on your own based on the requirements of a particular job you’re applying for.
You'll find examples of skills audits in the following links:
