According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 581,000 veterans were unemployed in 2020, and over half of that number were ages 25 to 54. That’s a staggering number of unutilized technical skills and experience that these veterans have accumulated during their active duty.
Coincidentally, the electronics manufacturing industry has been facing a shortage of skilled workers. Based on a recent study by The Manufacturing Institute, as many as 2.1 million US electronics manufacturing industry positions could go unfilled.
This skills gap in the electronics manufacturing sector opens vast doors for former servicemen and women to utilize their military skills and experience and successfully transition to civilian life.
This article will dive into veterans’ three military skills that would make them fit perfectly in an EMS company and how veterans training can help them make that transition.
Discipline
The US military trains people to have a mission-critical mindset and be accountable for their every decision and action because the mission and lives will depend on it. Consequently, veterans already have the ingrained discipline that not many civilian workers have, making them ideal people to work and lead in the assembly line of an EMS company.
Having been exposed to mission-critical thinking for a long time, these veterans are sure to have the natural focus on quality, safety, and detail, which many assembly staff highly require. With this discipline, they know how important it is to stick with a task until it is completed to standards.
That’s a high degree of professionalism that can only be obtained through their years of active duty.
Problem Solving And Technical Skills
When it comes to working in a stressful, fast-paced, and dynamic environment, it’s safe to say that nothing could ever top military service. Soldiers need to analyze and resolve complex challenges under pressure constantly. Because of this, veterans can learn new concepts much more quickly than your average Joe.
Moreover, the high-stress real-world situations that veterans have faced during their service have given them the adaptability to change direction whenever the situation calls for it. This flexibility is highly valuable in the electronics industry, where priorities can change rapidly.
In addition to all of this, many veterans are already skilled in either engineering, IT, and communications electronics. This makes it easier for them to step into the electronics manufacturing sector, where they can apply their practical know-how with specific equipment and machinery. And with the help of a great electronic manufacturing training center, they can elevate those skills even more.
Leadership and Ability To Work In A Team
Whether gained through climbing the ranks or taking charge of a small squad, leadership is one of the most critical transferable soft skills a veteran can bring to any organization. They’ve spent months or even years building trust and collaborating with their team members to keep complete missions and keep each other safe.
That kind of camaraderie is a core value within the military and is highly sought after in many civilian roles, even more so for electronics manufacturers. Veterans understand that effective collaboration is a must when working in teams or leading them to accomplish a common goal.
Veterans are attuned to effectively manage and motivate their team members to achieve great results even in the most challenging circumstances because that’s what they had to do in the field, and more often than not, in life or death situations.
Conclusion
Veterans have highly transferable skills that many electronics manufacturers find indispensable. These ingrained skills and experience can put them in a position to excel in this electronics sector.
A veteran’s training at a world-leading electronic manufacturing training center can help address the skills gap in the industry while also helping veterans transition to civilian life.
Learn about our Veteran’s Training Program today. Contact Blackfox at (888) 837-9959 or at sharonm@blackfox.com.
