Your unique and transferable skill-set, acquired through your military career is of great value to employers across a range of industries in Civvy Street. However, it is likely you will have some gaps in your skills that you will need to compete effectively for civilian jobs.
The more you can add to your skillset the better – not least because it will show that you are proactive and willing to learn, but it will make you more employable too!
And to really maximise your success and prepare for not just a new career - but career advancement, recognising and narrowing your skills gap will be of great benefit to you. So how do you do it? Follow our step-by-step guide to getting started:
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Evaluate your soft and hard skills
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Review your military appraisals
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Identify in-demand skills of 2024
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Fill your skills gaps
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Gain commercial experience
To boost your qualifications, maximise your current successes and prepare for career advancement, we recommend narrowing the skills gap that currently exists between what you can do and what you need to learn. So where do you start?
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EVALUATE YOUR SOFT AND HARD SKILLS
Firstly, what are soft skills and how do they differ from hard skills?
Hard skills are specific abilities or qualifications that can be possessed and demonstrated in a measured way. They are typically gained through on the job training or educational programmes, often through military training.
Soft skills are self-developed attributes that aren’t specific to a particular role, picked up through your life and work experiences, including your military service.
Here are a few examples of hard and soft skills:
HARD SKILLS
● A degree (or other academic qualification)
● An industry specific certification
● IT & Comms skills
● Foreign language skills
● Military Security qualification (e.g. USO)
● Budget/ Fund Management qualification
● Project/ Risk Management qualification
Health and Safety/ ISO 27001 or similar qualification
SOFT SKILLS
● Values driven
Analytical & problem solving skills
● Ability to work calmly under pressure
● Interpersonal skills
● Negotiation skills
● A good work ethic & ability to get things done to high standards
● Team skills
● Leadership
Soft skills are unique to you - so remember, a template solution doesn’t work. Identifying your soft skills can be difficult but we’ve made it easier to do so. Look at the scenarios below, which showcase examples of various situations. Now, think back to your past (whether in your career or elsewhere) and consider similar scenarios that you might have been in. What soft skills did you use during this time?
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REVIEW YOUR MILITARY APPRAISALS
It’s always good to hear what other people think are your strengths, so speaking to your boss, and looking through recent military appraisals are a good way to understand what skills others believe are of great assets to you - and also where they think you can improve.
If you are due a performance review or appraisal, we advise thinking about the following to help you really hone in on your strengths - and what you need to improve on.
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Identify successes or accomplishments
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Make a list of the goals you have achieved
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Ask yourself what could have gone better?
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List what you think you can improve on
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Ask colleagues for their thoughts
You’ll be able to start piecing together a comprehensive list of your skills now, so what is the next step?
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IDENTIFY THE MOST IN-DEMAND SKILLS 2024
When leaving the military - or looking to jump ship into a new career in Civvy Street, preparation is key. Knowing what industry, and job role you want to focus your job search on, will help you identify what skills you need to focus on. At this stage it’s important to research and read job descriptions for the roles that you are interested in. Don’t just read one or two, look up many more and compare the skills that are required for each. By doing this you will be able to identify any skills or qualifications that you don’t possess. Write down any skills that you are missing and make a note of how many times each of those skills comes up in the job descriptions. When you feel you’ve looked at enough job descriptions, take a look at which skills have come up the most and are therefore most in-demand. These are the skills you should concentrate on acquiring in order to make yourself more employable.
Ask yourself, what sort of job would you enjoy? And what skills do you need? What are the most in-demand skills of 2024.
There are certain skills that can increase your employability and according to LinkedIn, the top 10 (below) in-demand skills of 2024 are:
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Communication
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Customer Service
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Leadership
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Project Management
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Management
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Analytics
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Teamwork
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Sales
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Problem Solving
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Research
Top skill of the moment: Adaptability (This is great news as adaptability is a core strength of military personnel!)
It may come as a surprise that not all of the most in-demand skills require training or qualifications. In fact, several are what you’d describe as ‘soft skills’ - personal attributes that are a product of your personal and professional experience. Military personnel possess many of these skills such as analysis, leadership, adaptability and teamwork, but may not realise their commercial value and how applicable they are to Civvy Street.
Taking more of a deep dive into ‘hard skills’, IT and cyber, and digital skills in general are the most in-demand across the board. So, in order to advance and future-proof your career it is worth investing time in these skills.
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Artificial intelligence
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Cybersecurity
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Cloud computing
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Analytics
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Web development
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Mobile App development
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Social media expertise
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Full stack development
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Data and information visualisation
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UX design
Many military people immediately rule themselves out of applying for cyber roles because they assume cybersecurity jobs require technical experience, but your military security training, knowledge and experience are ideal to transition into information security. And our FREE training pathways are a great way to either strengthen skills you already have - or learn completely new ones. At the heart of our programme is a commitment to facilitating a progressive transition into the civilian workforce, supported by forces-friendly employers offering rewarding careers in their most important and fastest growing roles. Find out more in our blog posts below - and apply today for our 2024 courses.
WHAT CAN MEMBERS OF THE UK ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY EXPECT WORKING AS AN ETHICAL HACKER?
WHAT CAN MEMBERS OF THE UK ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY EXPECT WORKING IN DATA ANALYTICS?
WHAT CAN MEMBERS OF THE UK ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY EXPECT WORKING IN CYBERSECURITY?
WHAT CAN MEMBERS OF THE UK ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY EXPECT WORKING IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
4. FILL YOUR SKILLS GAPS
Now you have followed steps 1 to 3 you should have a comprehensive list of your strengths - and have identified what your skills gaps are. Whether you are still in the military and thinking of leaving Service, or you’ve already left, there are many ways that you can fill your skills gaps and make yourself a more competitive candidate. Training and education are the best ways to fill any holes in your skillset as they will provide you with certificates or qualifications that demonstrate that you’ve learnt and acquired the competencies you were lacking.
There are several ways that you can go about filling your skills gaps:
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IMPROVE YOUR DIGITAL SKILLS
Solid computer skills are the foundation of any job. If you are looking to improve your digital skills including specific cyber security and IT training, then SaluteMyJob can help. And it is all free!
PENETRATION TESTING
This 'pathway to employment' programme is designed to provide members of the Armed Forces Community with access to training AND certification as a Penetration Tester and, where appropriate, subsequent paid work experience or employment opportunities. If you're a competent IT user, willing to learn and have an interest in cybersecurity and gaining the skills to become a Penetration Tester, then this is for you.
SIGN UP NOW
GOVERNANCE AND POLICY
Ideal for individuals who are looking to unlock their potential in data analytics. It is a beginner-level programme designed to provide foundational understanding in data-analysis, enabling learners to critically evaluate data and derive actionable insights. You will gain foundational knowledge, hands-on experience and earn a globally recognised digital credential and an IBM certificate.
SIGN UP NOW
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PATHWAY
With security-focused mindsets and cross-functional soft skills, ex-military personnel are well-matched to fill roles in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry. By the end of the course, you'll possess the knowledge and skills to describe AI concepts, apply ML/AI techniques to real-world problems, and understand ethical considerations in AI development.
SIGN UP NOW
DATA ANALYTICS FUNDAMENTALS
Ideal for individuals who are looking to unlock their potential in data analytics. It is a beginner-level programme designed to provide foundational understanding in data-analysis, enabling learners to critically evaluate data and derive actionable insights. You will gain foundational knowledge, hands-on experience and earn a globally recognised digital credential and an IBM certificate.
SIGN UP NOW
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USE YOUR ENHANCED LEARNING CREDITS
Use your Enhanced Learning Credits to complete courses and gain relevant qualifications. Read our FAQs to learn more:
HOW DO I ACCESS ENHANCED LEARNING CREDITS?
5. GAIN COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE
Learning a new skill is one thing, actually using that skill to benefit a business is another. When you read job ads you’ll see that many of them require commercial experience in order to get even some entry-level positions. This is quite normal and though it can be frustrating to have to gain further experience when you’ve been working for several years, it is a good way for you to try out the job to see if you even like it before committing to it. There are various ways that you can gain experience in order to put your new skills into practice and to strengthen your CV. Doing an internship or some work experience is one of the most valuable steps you can take on your journey into employment, so don’t make the mistake of overlooking this step. If a company you’re interested in doesn’t publicly advertise an internship or apprenticeship scheme it does not mean that opportunities aren’t available. Try researching the company on our forces-friendly directory Or, reach out to them directly, Linkedin is a good place to start - and ask them if they’re willing to offer work placements as a way to help you acquire and practise the necessary practical experience. And through our pathway programme, not only are you learning new skills, we have employer partners who offer work placements so you also gain that valuable commercial experience.
For those in resettlement and entitled, the MOD will pay your salary and expenses for ‘Civilian Work Attachments’. You’ll have to jump through a number of bureaucratic hoops as part of the approvals process but it’s a great scheme and is well-worth the effort if you meet the criteria.
AND FINALLY….
Remember that you’re not the first person to leave the Armed Forces and many have successfully transitioned into Civvy Street before you. Though it may seem daunting to learn new skills and embark on a new professional life, it also presents a great opportunity to diversify your skills and knowledge. And being in the Armed Forces you will be experienced in continuous learning and re-skilling, which means you already have a head-start on others who don’t have that unique experience. Good luck!