A unique project to profile and recognise the skills of veterans will launch next month. The SCQF Partnership (SCQFP) will work with colleagues at Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to develop an online skills profiling tool specifically for service leavers, to support them in understanding the skills they have gained in the military.

The tool, which will be hosted on the My World of Work site owned by SDS, will help veterans identify how their skills translate into language easily understood by civilian employers or institutions in order to gain a job or move into further learning. It will also allow service leavers to better understand the qualifications they have gained by mapping these against the SCQF. Over 14,000 skilled and experienced individuals across the UK leave the armed forces every year. 

Funded by Scottish Government, the project runs between April-October 2021, and will initially examine up to 20 job roles within the forces considered to be priorities for transitional support, and which are held by service leavers primarily settling in Scotland.

The SCQF Partnership began work in 2018 to simplify the system for mapping and translating qualifications gained in the armed forces, with the aim of helping veterans understand the level of the learning they have achieved in the Scottish context. The SCQF website currently features a number of leaflets designed for service leavers from a range of armed forces units. The leaflets provide information on the SCQF, Scotland’s national qualifications framework, and signpost individuals to organisations which support veterans with their transition into civilian life.

Graeme Dey, Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans said:

“We are delighted to support this project which will help those leaving the Services make an effective transition to civilian life as well as ensuring employers recognise the wide range of valuable skills, qualifications and experiences they have to offer.

 “The Scottish Government remains wholehearted in our commitment to supporting our Armed Forces and veterans community and our ambition is for an approach to employability and education that focuses on the needs of the individual.”
 

Aileen Ponton, Chief Executive of the SCQF Partnership, added:

“The SCQF Partnership is delighted to be working with Scottish Government, SDS and the MoD to deliver greater recognition for the skills held by services personnel. The profiling tool will help individuals to articulate their skills clearly in order to find employment or education which will add value to them and improve Scotland’s economic future.”

For more information on the SCQF resources available for veterans, visit the website at https://scqf.org.uk/support/support-for-individuals/support-for-veterans/