Veteran support for transition to civilian employment
Transitioning to civilian employment can be a challenge, and different for every veteran.
Veterans develop valuable skills during their military service, but sometimes it's difficult to transfer those skills to the civilian workforce.
There are many tools and services to support veterans to move to civilian employment across both the private and public sector, the following resources can help you or your family members start the search for the right next step.
Victorian public sector veteran employment opportunities
If you live in Victoria, there are ways that the Victoria State Government can help you find employment.
State Government values the skills and experience veterans gain while in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). In November 2016 a target was set to employ 250 veterans in the Victorian public sector. This later went up to 750.
- Register as a veteran on Careers Vic to search for jobs and help track the number of veterans applying.
- Find helpful information in the Guide for veterans applying for roles in the Victorian public sector on the Victorian Government website.
- Find more information on Job opportunities for veterans in the Victorian public sector.
- Register to join the Veteran Mentor Program on the Mentorloop website.
Industry veteran employment opportunities in Victoria
Industry in Victoria recognises the value that Defence veterans can bring to their workplace. Find more job opportunities, employment programs and education supports available to veterans:
- RSL Victoria Veteran Employment Program – part of a national program to help you find and apply for civilian employment.
- Veterans in Construction – connects veterans to work in the Victorian construction industry, whether on the tools or in the office. All major government-funded projects have veterans added to the Priority Job Seekers list.
- Soldier on Pathways Program and Job Board – provides practical career advice and employment help.
- Princes Trust Enterprise Program – supports members of the veteran community to start a business.
- Australian Student Veteran Association – support and professional development for veterans studying at university.
Find a job or training course in Victoria
- Victorian Skills Gateway – search for training courses.
- Victorian Skills and Jobs Centres – general career advice.
- Free TAFE – search for information on courses, eligibility and access.
- Big Build Apprenticeships – jobs and apprenticeships.
- Victorian Government – find job opportunities.
Connect with recruiters who understand veterans
- WithYouWithMe is a veteran-owned tech company that helps veterans with their transition from the military into fulfilling new careers.
- Ironside Resources (formerly Ironside Recruitment) – Australia’s first dedicated recruitment agency for veterans.
National Veterans' employment tools and opportunities
The Federal Government worked with Defence as part of the Defence Force Transition Program to develop the Veteran Employment Toolkit and Veterans’ Employment Program. These help veterans adapt the skills they learned during their Defence career into the type of skills that civilian employers are looking for.
The Veteran Employment Toolkit provides great practical information so you can use the skills and tasks you did, depending on rank, in areas such as:
- leadership
- planning
- communication
- problem-solving.
This helps to match and explain your Australian Defence Force (ADF) skills in a non-military way, against skills needed for civilian employment.
For a lot of veterans, they may never have had a job outside Defence. They may also not have applied for a job for quite some time. The Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Program provides support and information for:
- planning their transition to the civilian workforce
- tools for resume writing and applying for jobs
- employment in a civilian workplace.
The Core Skills Identifier is an interactive online tool to help ex-service members identify what their military skills are in the civilian workplace.
The Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Program also targets employers, to explain to them the value of employing veterans and the unique combination of qualifications, training, experience and skills they can provide their workforce. There are also ways employers can let veterans know they are interested and value Defence Force veterans.
The Australian Defence Force Skills Translation Guides provide information for Defence veterans to have their transferable military skills appropriately recognised in a civilian context, or recognition of prior learning.
Jobactive provides information tailored for veteran jobseekers.
ForceNet is a Defence e-communications secure platform that keeps Defence members, veterans and Defence family members connected. This lets veterans that are reservists access Reserve employment opportunities as they are posted.
Information for employers
Each year approximately 500 veterans transition from service in the Australian Defence Force into civilian life in Victoria, along with their families.
Veterans have undergone the competitive and thorough ADF recruitment process and undertaken ongoing education and on the job training as a requirement throughout their service. What this means for employers as they transition out of service is access to a pool of highly qualified and skilled workers.
The ADF has an extensive range of roles beyond what you might expect, and veterans have a wealth of transferrable skills across many fields including management and leadership, logistics, project management, trades, construction, security, administration, medicine and health, and many more.
The Victorian Government has created a resource to raise awareness of the benefits of employing veterans, which will provide you with additional information on the skills, experience and attributes veterans can bring to your business.
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