We’ve mentioned in our last post that there’s is a dire shortage of contractors in the UK. Well, in fairness there is probably a skills shortage as opposed to contractors going missing, and this is at a critical level in sectors such as finance, IT, engineering and in managerial roles. There’s plenty of construction contractors, which is great news, and as they are making hay while the sun shines in the form of the continued expansion of the industry there is also something to celebrate as the manufacturing sector pulls ahead in February’s figures, putting a big contractor demand on agencies. However, it’s pretty apparent that when it comes to some experts, we are thin on the ground.
Some recruitment industry pundits are wanting to leverage immigration as a means to bridge the gap, but as the title of this blog would suggest, we think that there needs to be more work done to harness the immense skill of ex-army veterans instead.
At the very least, these former armed forces personnel are disciplined, accurate, follow instructions and procedures like their lives depend on it (and they did) and they are highly-skilled individuals. Many have trained in mechanical, electrical and hydraulic engineering. Logistics experts, drivers and IT demons, they are solution-orientated, adapt quickly, and let’s face it, are good at bossing people around managing people.
There are a number of initiatives that have been introduced by the Government to get these ex-forces candidates into work on civvy street, such as Troops to Teachers. The Ministry of Defence has its Armed Forces Corporate Covenant, which sees companies pledge their support to armed forces community, many of which choose to do so through re-training. An example of one such initiative would be the FDM Group, an IT service provider that launched its UK Ex-Forces Programme last year, which offers ex-forces personnel IT training in several business and technical disciplines. The training is then followed by commercial experience at FDM for at least two years.
There are a number of initiatives that have been introduced by the Government to get these ex-forces candidates into work on civvy street, such as Troops to Teachers. The Ministry of Defence has its Armed Forces Corporate Covenant, which sees companies pledge their support to armed forces community, many of which choose to do so through re-training. An example of one such initiative would be the FDM Group, an IT service provider that launched its UK Ex-Forces Programme last year, which offers ex-forces personnel IT training in several business and technical disciplines. The training is then followed by commercial experience at FDM for at least two years.
Of course, it’s impossible to say for sure that ex-armed forces will make great contractors when in fact we have no empirical evidence to suggest that they will. However, on the face of it, there is so much about a career in the military that would transfer well into life as a professional contractor and as this sector of the labour market have been the heroes of the UK economy, we would welcome taking the a calculated risk to swell our ranks with our military counterparts.
