New Training Experiences
Participants were asked if training would result in new skills that would give them a fresh outlook on life and therefore a fresher outlook on their new jobs post-service. Many were resistant to this suggestion, at best. Whilst they understood that their specialist skills were specific to their service role and that they should embrace new learning, they still disputed any need for greater skill levels than those they already held. Paul explained ‘…I left the job and … she said what are your qualifications and I said none, …and she said well how did you do all this stuff and I said because I know what to do’. They wanted post-service employers to more actively recognise these skills. Julie stated, ‘I don’t know…but I just thought I’m worth more than that, with my knowledge base’. When asked about the expectation to convert their skills formally to recognisable qualifications for future employers, the participants accepted the need, but were not happy about it. Jasper stated, ‘at this stage, I’m only really just getting the diploma I need for the job description that I’ve been currently in for ten years anyway’. Charles agreed, saying ‘Qualifications are important unfortunately’ and Skye explained ‘I’ve been, I’ve been saving my money to get all of my Navy recognised into some sort of paper because the civilian world works on paper’. The participants were frustrated with the need to convert their skills, when those skills should be readily apparent to new employers. It costs them time and money to do so, and only a few organisations are well equipped to assist them with the process. Some participants were unable to see the value of their skills. Raymond explained ‘Well for me personally I don’t really have any transferable skill. I mean if you look at my PMKeyS12, I’ve got skills coming out my ears. But in the civilian world, I’ve got ultimately nothing’. However, like Matthew, they were also grateful to the organisations that currently support the translation of their skills. Those who indicated that they were, or would, pursue new training, were doing so for their own interest in those areas. Barry stated ‘I’m still looking at training, I’m still looking to develop my own, myself personally. My next, my next goal is to do my security and anti-terrorism degree’. Skye explained ‘…sort of… I’ve just started a diploma in August last year…because my main goal now is to become a nutritionist’. However, Skye also explained.
…going to uni is so overwhelming and so, so alien to me. I was at high school in an all-girls school, then I was in the Navy with on the job training and then suddenly now I have to try and be academic. So I enrolled but I got scared so I withdrew and then I signed up to do the diplomas because I thought baby steps might be better.
But those who had no interest in new training struggled with the need to consider reskilling when their existing skills were not recognised. The tone and emotion behind discussions around new training for several participants was, at the very best, tired, and at worst non-enthusiastic. They feel undervalued as employees when seeking post-service employment.
However, whilst most participants disputed the need for new training almost all participants reported that they were quite open to undertaking new training and education opportunities and many had already completed, or commenced study of some sort, if it would help with new employment opportunities. The acceptance of training opportunities happened at all levels with some pursuing RPL for their existing skills at vocational levels, some pursuing new qualifications at vocational level, and some pursuing higher education at both bachelor and master level. Sebastian confirmed ‘Yep, yep, hence why I’ve devoted the last four years to studying my arse off… just investing in the career…or investing in myself actually’.
Most of the training being undertaken specifically related to their former or current employment pathways, however, there were a few participants, such as Skye, pursuing new employment pathways. Some were simply expanding their pre-existing skills, such as Paul who was a former police officer and pursued a law degree, ‘the first thing I did was my law degree’ and Henry who advised ‘I just finished both my Bachelors and Grad Cert in Emergency Management…but what I had in the background gave me more opportunities to complete that because I had credits’. They were doing this to secure their skills for employment in the future, rather than relying upon existing skills that were not easily recognised. The participants explained that they had learnt from their past and were doing things differently for the future, but some wanted a guarantee of employment before undertaking new training. Donald stated ‘Yeah well I would… if I could see a career path, so if I could see okay I could go get this job if I get these skills, I would do it’, and Michael agreed, ‘There’s no point in me getting qualifications if they’ve got no relevance to a career path that I want to go into’. They were openly frustrated at their need to do this.
A number of participants were able to verbalise their intentions or desires with training but were uncertain whether they would have the opportunity to pursue them further. The most obvious barriers for many of them were existing and ongoing emotional and psychological and/or physical injuries. Maria shared
because I get tired and I actually, like you see those goats and chickens that one minute they’re standing up, the next minute they’re falling over asleep, I can be typing and I will actually want to fall asleep and that’s within half an hour… other days really good. You’ve got nightmares, you’ve got all the other things that go with post traumatic but everyone is different.
But for some, other barriers such as time and money were presenting. Tom explained that finding the time was difficult, ‘I want to…work towards a diploma and the job … like as it is now, it’s really busy so I don’t have the time to do it but that is my aspirations’. For Matthew, the challenge was financial ‘But a lot of it also comes down to you know finance as well which is, which is hard’. Overall, across the services, and both genders, a willingness for retraining was present, but only because their post-service options were limited. Reluctance in this area is understandable, given the years of training many participants have undergone, and as mature workers they have less time to earn a return on investment in training. Therefore, recognition of existing skills that translate to the civilian world was most important. Utilising existing skills and reducing training costs and time were priorities, and then any retraining needed for future career paths would be explored by the individuals. With a combined recognition and learning approach, they were less resistant to new learning because they felt vindicated when some of their skills were acknowledged. There was some emotional exhaustion present amongst the participants when considering retraining and this was directly linked to their age and years of service. Alastair shared ‘maybe 20 years ago I’d be like, no problems but at the minute it’s like I’m sort of over it, it doesn’t take much to piss me off where I just go, not really, I’m not really feeling it’ and Abigail stated ‘then I think…oh God I’m 40, there’s no, you know, I’m already half way through my career. Almost, you know, out the other end. If I start again, I have to start from the bottom, and you know...’ Obviously the younger they were with fewer years in service the more inclined they were to embrace retraining for a new career path. However, there was no indication that a lack of training contributed in any way to their job satisfaction post-service. The participants were frustrated that they needed actual qualifications in order to confirm their existing skills, but this was an achievable option and the presence of the qualifications did little to improve their job satisfaction. It did improve their employment prospects, but once employed, their reporting of job satisfaction remained unimproved.