Employers '˜missing a trick' when it comes hiring ex-military

The chief executive of Barclays business banking has called upon company bosses to increasingly look towards hiring former service men and women to help ease recruitment woes.
Ian Rand - Barclays - credit: VisMediaIan Rand - Barclays - credit: VisMedia
Ian Rand - Barclays - credit: VisMedia

Ian Rand, a former major in the British Army, said employers are “missing a trick” by overlooking the transferable skills former military personnel have which can bring real benefits to many aspects of business life.

He said there was mounting evidence that veterans can often outpeform civilian recruits in a number of industries, often scoring top 30 percentile for social influence, creativity, rational decision making and emotional resilience.

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Mr Rand also cited a recent study which showed military leavers proved to have twice as much potential as civilians in demonstrating leadership and developing solutions to problems.

He said: “We support over a million businesses across the UK, and we often hear from them the same challenges - ‘I’m struggling to find the right people’, or ‘my staff are struggling too adapt to the changes in our industry, and we’re not moving fast enough’.

“All too often, however, employers are missing a trick by overlooking the transferrable skills ex- military personnel have, skills which could add real value to their business. At a time when there is a growing economic need to improve the productivity of the UK workforce, businesses simply cannot afford to overlook this impressive talent pool. Yet, some of the research we have done in the area of veteran employment shows that fewer than half of hiring managers would look favourably at military experience on a CV.”

He added: “For businesses, the strength and depth of the skills that veterans have is a real asset, and needs to finally be recognised as such. At Barclays, we’ve recently hired our 500th veteran into a full time role within the bank, and have seen collectively how their skills and culture have had a positive impact.

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“We strongly believe in encouraging other businesses to do the same; not just because it helps veterans to find rewarding, meaningful employment, but because it adds real value to UK businesses at a time when they need it most.”