Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces seeking to transition to civilian careers following their military service are being offered jobs by Careernet Prism. This is the diversity arm of talent solutions firm Careernet and this initiative is part of their ‘Diversity Career Fair’, a half virtual career fair scheduled for September 23, 2023. The career fair will feature job roles from leading companies like Philips, TESCO, Citi Bank and Crisil.
The initiative is spearheaded by Sqn Ldr Delshad Master, an armed forces veteran of the Indian Air Force. The event is also being held in partnership with Brisk Olive, a firm specialising in the recruitment of ex-soldiers. Founded by Colonel Sunil Prem (Retd), the company trains, transitions, and provides veterans for positions ranging from supervisors to top management, across India.
Speaking on the process of transitioning from a military a civilian career, Anshuman Das, Co-Founder and CEO of Careernet, said “Confidence, presentability, and overall awareness ensure that it isn’t really difficult for military veterans to find and land jobs, the real challenge lies in finding them jobs commensurate to their educational qualifications, knowledge, and expertise. HR Management and Security consciousness do come naturally to persons who have served in the military for any number of years.”
Adding, “Apart from HR and Security roles, veterans can contribute to an array of domains like engineering, defense & aerospace manufacturing, automobiles, network security, satellite telecommunications, logistics & SCM, F&B, management of educational institutions, and more. The transition from uniformed life to one out of it certainly isn’t devoid of challenges but then there isn’t many a soldier who shied away from a challenge”
Today, there is growing recognition for the discipline, strong leadership skills and problem-solving capabilities that veterans bring to workplaces. According to a recent job report by jobs site Indeed India, the most sought-after roles by veterans are Teacher (5.38%), Security Officer (4.08%), Security Supervisor (2.14%), and General Manager (1.69%).
Armed force veterans are also more likely to be offered roles at a mid-senior level or above. “Military personnel in the officer cadre either complete their short service engagement tenures after 10 or 14 years of extended service or seek voluntary separation from service after the mandatory 20 years of pensionable service. Military personnel below officer rank (PBORs) seek voluntary separation from service after the pensionable tenure of 15 years. The age demographic of retiring personnel under both categories is approximately 35-45 years. There are still others who superannuate from service in their 50s.
In most cases, one can expect veterans from both cadres to be offered roles at mid to mid-senior levels or above. Many organisations also have specific policies and career tracks for retired armed forces personnel, which may sometimes start at lower levels but offer fast-tracked growth”, said Das
“India Inc. would only stand to gain towards its work culture, ethos and productivity through a substantial infusion of military veterans into its veins. With this in mind, Careernet Prism’s all Diversity Career Fair seeks to connect India Inc. with military veterans, such that both sides benefit from the wealth of expertise and experience that the latter bring with them”, he added.
The job fair by Careernet Prism will offer jobs in a range of roles, such as Software Engineer, Data scientist, Cyber Security, Business Analyst, Product Manager, Control Assurance, DevOps, QA Engineer, Finance Analyst, HCM Integration, Product Specialist, Strategy Consultant, Senior Accountant, Systems Analyst, Talent Operations Partner, Legal Counsel, Marketing Manager and many others. It will also offer jobs to individuals from the LGBTQ+ community, women and People with Disabilities (PwD).