Filling the skills gap: Engineering

Ex-Military engineers are qualified and experienced in a breadth of engineering specialties including; civil engineering, aircraft engineering (avionics and mechanical), marine engineering, automotive engineering and systems engineering. In addition to technical expertise, military engineering professionals also bring a wealth of unique ‘soft’ skills to commercial employers. These are skills they have solidified through arduous military training and subsequent experience in barracks and overseas.  

Ex-military engineers will have additional skills and experience, such as:

HARD SKILLS

Military engineers are qualified up to Postgraduate level, with knowledge, skills and experience in:

• Computer Aided Design (CAD).

• Site Safety Supervision.

• Engineering Maintenance.

• Human Resource Management.

• Project Management.

• Engineering Instruction and Training.

• Warehousing and Storage.

• Mechanical Engineering.

• Electrical/Electronic Engineering.

• Air engineering (avionics and mechanical).

• Systems engineering.

• Marine engineering .

• Health and Safety.

• IT.

SOFT SKILLS

Employers find that military people are proactive, team players, mission focussed with the drive to get things done to the highest quality standards. They are often trained and experienced in:

• Stakeholder and relationship management.

• Customer focus.

• Accounting for their actions.

• Working calmly under pressure.

• Delivering efficiency.

• Time management.

• Communication and presentation.

• Planning and Implementation.

• Problem Solving.

• Teamwork.

• Collaborative working.

• Adaptability and resourcefulness.

• Leadership; motivating others.

• Being flexible and resourceful.

EXPERIENCE

• Contract management in challenging environments.

• Managing complexity and multiple concurrent projects.

• Managing risk.

• Supply chain management.

• Warehousing, accounting and distribution.

• Managing budgets.

• Consultation and design engineering including technical drawing.

• Site safety supervision.

• Material testing.

• Surveying of sites in a range of geographic settings.

EXAMPLES OF EMPLOYERS LOOKING FOR EX-MILITARY ENGINEERS

• Aesseal

• Alstom

• Atlantis Marine

• Babcock International

• Capita PLC

• Drumgrange LTD

• Forsberg Services

• Lothian Buses

• Masterfix

• M Group Services

• United Utilities

Read more about these top forces-friendly employers and why they actively recruit from the military talent pool here.

HOW DO EX-MILITARY ENGINEERS ADD VALUE?

• Qualified to the same professional standards as commercially qualified engineers.

• Proven their ability to manage engineering projects from design to delivery.

• Experienced in solving complex engineering problems in the most challenging environments.

• Possess a broad range of soft skills, including their ability to form effective stakeholder relationships to their provision of strong, fair leadership.

• Ability and willingness to operate under extreme levels of pressure - calmly and without compromising on quality.

• Relentless mission focus and determination to achieve the very highest professional standards.

• Willingness to learn.

These technical and general skills, knowledge and experience set them apart from others and make them exceptionally strong candidates for a commercial engineering roles.