84 – Work After Service: Developing Workforce Readiness and Veteran Talent for the Future

In today’s episode, we talked with Michael Kelly, Assistant Vice President at USAA, and Debbie Bradbard the Senior Research Associate at Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

I invited them to the show to talk about the first of four papers written through the collaboration of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and USAA. The employment research series is called the “Workforce Readiness Research” and the first paper was entitled “Work After Service: Developing Workforce Readiness and Veteran Talent for the Future.”

In this episode of Fire and Adjust, Michael and Debbie talk about some of the main findings presented in the first paper. According to their research, there are over 200,000 military to civilian life transitions happening every year in the US. These transitions are usually muddled with confusion between vets looking for jobs and companies who have no strategies in place whatsoever to accommodate what is otherwise a highly capable veteran workforce.

According to the research, most vets have skills needed by these companies but lack things like certifications and a comprehension of business language to even be considered for job vacancies.

To bridge this gap between vets and their potential employers, the research proposes that companies should be educated about the value that veterans bring to their organizations. Companies need to know that there are tools they can use to create a mutually beneficial relationship between them and highly capable veterans.

One of the things that Michael and Debbie suggest is hiring vets who may not have the hard skills required for the job but have soft skills that can have a profound impact on the success of organizations and training them along the way to develop the hard skills they lack. According to the research, 60% of new hires do jobs that they were trained in. Adopting this mindset can definitely help vets looking for jobs and companies that need highly professional, disciplined, and leadership-oriented individuals for the organizations.

Tune in to the podcast to learn more about the findings of the first paper of this research series

Resources from Today's Show

Work After Service: Developing Workforce Readiness and Veteran Talent for the Future
USAA Resource Page
IVMF
ONet
My Next Move for Veterans
Skillbridge

In today’s episode, we talked with Michael Kelly, Assistant Vice President at USAA, and Debbie Bradbard the Senior Research Associate at Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

I invited them to the show to talk about the first of four papers written through the collaboration of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and USAA. The employment research series is called the “Workforce Readiness Research” and the first paper was entitled “Work After Service: Developing Workforce Readiness and Veteran Talent for the Future.”

In this episode of Fire and Adjust, Michael and Debbie talk about some of the main findings presented in the first paper. According to their research, there are over 200,000 military to civilian life transitions happening every year in the US. These transitions are usually muddled with confusion between vets looking for jobs and companies who have no strategies in place whatsoever to accommodate what is otherwise a highly capable veteran workforce.

According to the research, most vets have skills needed by these companies but lack things like certifications and a comprehension of business language to even be considered for job vacancies.

To bridge this gap between vets and their potential employers, the research proposes that companies should be educated about the value that veterans bring to their organizations. Companies need to know that there are tools they can use to create a mutually beneficial relationship between them and highly capable veterans.

One of the things that Michael and Debbie suggest is hiring vets who may not have the hard skills required for the job but have soft skills that can have a profound impact on the success of organizations and training them along the way to develop the hard skills they lack. According to the research, 60% of new hires do jobs that they were trained in. Adopting this mindset can definitely help vets looking for jobs and companies that need highly professional, disciplined, and leadership-oriented individuals for the organizations.

Tune in to the podcast to learn more about the findings of the first paper of this research series

Resources from Today’s Show

Work After Service: Developing Workforce Readiness and Veteran Talent for the Future
USAA Resource Page
IVMF
ONet
My Next Move for Veterans
Skillbridge