Any employee who has trained and served in the Volunteer Reserve Forces will have developed a wide variety skills and qualities that can be transferred directly to the workplace.
Core transferable skills
Teamworking, self-confidence, leadership and experience of other cultures are all basic transferable skills that Reservists learn – qualities that are highly respected in the workplace.
Practical skills
If an accident happens at work a Reservist employee will be quick to respond as they’re all trained in first aid and health and safety. Weapons training and parade drill enable them to develop precision, co-ordination and accuracy – very useful personal skills if they use expensive machinery or technology in their civilian career. And because Reservists train for military operations in the field, they’ll have gained a keen understanding of resourcefulness, perseverance and the ability to improvise in unfamiliar or difficult circumstances.
Personal skills
If you think about the kind of attributes an ideal employee should have, organisational skills, loyalty, reliability, integrity and confidence would probably all be on your list.
All Reservists are given the chance to train in adventurous activities such as climbing, trekking, abseiling and white-water rafting. The Armed Forces place a high value on activities like these because they’re character building and help develop fitness, self-confidence, determination and perseverance. They also teach people how to lead or work within a team, solve problems, communicate, present ideas and organise complicated events and processes.
Specialist transferable skills
Reservists' training covers a wide range of skills and disciplines, depending on the Service and the Unit they belong to. These include areas such as:
- advanced communications using computer, radio and satellite technology
- language skills for intelligence and administrative operations
- handling explosives, dangerous chemicals or waste
- practical qualifications like driving heavy goods vehicles or a motorbike
- catering
- health and safety
- IT
- personnel management
Recognised qualifications
Much of the training Reservists are given is nationally recognised, so it’s possible to integrate it into your own staff development programmes for qualifications such as NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications), SCOTVEC (Scottish Vocational Education Council) and City and Guilds.
Reservist training
SaBRE has conducted research into the value of Reservist's training to their employers, read more about the value of Reservist's skills.