I read a lovely quote in the paper - in a not-so-lovely article about flood victims. 30,000 acres of country are submerged; many claim that this is, ultimately, a man made problem since the Environment Agency stopped dredging the rivers and even flogged off the machinery 20 years ago.
Here's what one of the residents said:
"I'd have greater faith in the Environment Agency
if there was a brigadier in charge of it."
The man refers to Brigadier Alex Birtwistle and the Army intervention during the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease. At the time, local farmers held protest meetings, calling the Ministry of Agriculture incompetent. (The brigadier had postponed his retirement for the army intervention.)
Soldiers worked continuously "collating intelligence, giving slaughtermen weapons training, and working out how to shower down vets fast enough to keep the diagnoses ticking over". Most had served in Bosnia, Sierra Leone or the Gulf. Now they became known in the farming community for their clipped vowels and organisational skills.
And I don't think I need to mention the 2012 Olympic Games. Many of the soldiers who supported the games had just returned from deployment and should have gone on leave. For many of them, accommodation was improvised - in comparison, Camp Bastion offered a life of luxury and here they were in the middle of London. And, yet, they saved the games and made them an unforgettable experience.
How much more evidence does this country need? There are now thousands of military personnel being made redundant - they are highly skilled, they know how to adjust and to adapt and to get a job done.
So I have finally started a little project to help promote the idea - ultimately, to promote (ex-) military personnel and their skills.
Please go to my next blog - "Let's talk about transition" - maybe you would like to contribute as well?
Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/30/footandmouth.angeliquechrisafis
Daily Mail 29/01/2014 p. 6
Showing posts with label skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skills. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Friday, 7 June 2013
"That sort of thing"
Yesterday, I attended the monthly meeting of The Liquid List (The List UK) in London. The guest speaker this time was Major General James Rupert Everard CBE, the current Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. He spoke about transferable skills of service leavers.
Now, he didn't say anything with which I would disagree; but it was a strangely detached speech.
Service leavers have a range of transferable skills.
We all know what those are.
They are generally appreciated by employers.
All you have to do is identify and describe them.
Good luck with it.
I'm over-simplifying, of course. However, several times during his short speech, he used the expression "that sort of thing" - when referring to CV writing, preparing for interviews, planning a new career. As if all that was something dirty with which he didn't really want to be associated.
Not for the first time it dawned on me:
In the not too distant future, he will be one of "them" - a service leaver. He might not be made redundant, but he might still not feel ready for "retirement", for doing nothing. Like all the others, he will have to deal with "that sort of thing". And he won't be any better prepared than any of them.
Initially, I was disappointed with the speech. Now I think I understand. I have spoken with so many service leavers - Private, Naval Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, Brigadier - initially, "that sort of thing" is alien to all of them. Fortunately, they all have the skills to master this challenge eventually - it just takes a bit of time and determination ... and a little bit of competent, coordinated and compassionate help.
The MOD is a long way from embracing the challenge that a career in the Military is no longer "for life" - for anybody. (I know, for many that has never been the case.) New recruits are joining every day - but, quite likely, they will be no better prepared for "that sort of thing" when their time comes.
Maybe, just maybe, the Veterans' Transition Review will make a difference - but that remains to be seen.
Now, he didn't say anything with which I would disagree; but it was a strangely detached speech.
Service leavers have a range of transferable skills.
We all know what those are.
They are generally appreciated by employers.
All you have to do is identify and describe them.
Good luck with it.
I'm over-simplifying, of course. However, several times during his short speech, he used the expression "that sort of thing" - when referring to CV writing, preparing for interviews, planning a new career. As if all that was something dirty with which he didn't really want to be associated.
Not for the first time it dawned on me:
In the not too distant future, he will be one of "them" - a service leaver. He might not be made redundant, but he might still not feel ready for "retirement", for doing nothing. Like all the others, he will have to deal with "that sort of thing". And he won't be any better prepared than any of them.
Initially, I was disappointed with the speech. Now I think I understand. I have spoken with so many service leavers - Private, Naval Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, Brigadier - initially, "that sort of thing" is alien to all of them. Fortunately, they all have the skills to master this challenge eventually - it just takes a bit of time and determination ... and a little bit of competent, coordinated and compassionate help.
The MOD is a long way from embracing the challenge that a career in the Military is no longer "for life" - for anybody. (I know, for many that has never been the case.) New recruits are joining every day - but, quite likely, they will be no better prepared for "that sort of thing" when their time comes.
Maybe, just maybe, the Veterans' Transition Review will make a difference - but that remains to be seen.
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