Throughout Australia, TAFE and university students are returning to classrooms after their mid-year break. Whether they’re a recent high school graduate or a mature-aged student pursuing a new career, higher education is the door to a world of new opportunities.
Taskforce Veteran founder Brett Wild believes it’s time we open up that door to defence force veterans, too.
He told EducationDaily that voices of veterans need to be better heard by being on the political front bench to motivate sustainable decision-making and positive change.
“We talk about mateship, commitment and sacrifice, but the reality for veterans is that the system winds us up like a spring toy and when we run out of energy, it doesn’t want us anymore.”
And Wild says that it’s a reality that is also frustratingly true for the veterans’ family members.
“We’ve asked the defence force member to travel all around the country and uproot his social connections and supports and when that veteran has health issues or PTSD and discovers they cannot financially support their family, we need to offer education support and career pathway training for the veteran’s partner, so they can become the family bread-winner if that’s what’s needed.”
As an example, Wild shares the story of a recently discharged ADF veteran who was traumatised by his role of retrieving the bodies of dead refugees out of Australian waters and has compromised mental health that is impacting his ability to work currently.
“Providing the wife with the education support she needs to step up as the family bread-winner is vital in that case. There’s a moral obligation – it’s not just about the veteran, but it’s about setting that veteran up for success in his family with two dependent children,” Wild told EducationDaily.
“(Veterans) don’t want a hand-out – they want a hand-up. And education and training can be the key.”
Education can nurture better mental health
Wild established Taskforce Veteran in 2018 to support the well-being of past, present, and future defence force veterans throughout Australia. Having spent more than a decade in the Australian Defence Force, Brett has a first-hand experience of understanding the sacrifices and challenges veterans face. This experience defines his dedication to advocating for the welfare of veterans in his post-military life.
His own military career began in the Citizens Military Force, before he became an Army Engineer with the 21st Construction Regiment. In 1999, Wild committed to continuous full-time service at the Army Personnel Agency, serving at various units, including 8 CER, 5 CER, Special Operations Command and finally at Special Forces Training Centre (SFTC) in Singleton, where he held the significant roles of Adjutant and Training Warrant Officer before his medical discharge in 2008.
By channelling his experiences into founding Taskforce Veteran, he aims to provide proactive support to veterans and their families during the challenging transition to civilian life.
The struggle of returning to civilian life
Approximately 5,500 defence personnel are discharged from the military every year – and for many, returning to civilian life can be a struggle.
Wild says one of the biggest hurdles that veterans face is finding employment that recognises their unique skills – skills that are hard to explain on paper, but necessary for survival in complex military operations.
Because of this gap in understanding, 19 per cent of veterans end up working in roles that do not match their skills. To make matters worse, Wild says, the veteran unemployment rate is thought to be three times that of the national average. He believes that encouraging and empowering veterans to pursue higher education can help close this gap that he says can leave veterans feeling unrecognised, undervalued and misunderstood.
He says the first critical step is to recognise military experience as prior learning.
“The learning environment of military personnel may look very different to that of your typical student, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable,” he told EducationDaily, adding that most veterans are highly adept when it comes to communication, leadership, strategic planning, and technology skills, plus they have the advantage of having a real-world understanding of how to use them.
Rather than making our veterans start a course from scratch, Wild says we should be validating their hard work and dedication for what it is: valuable lessons that can be applied to many higher education courses. Although he says some universities have already begun offering dedicated pathways and scholarships for veterans, we still need more institutions to step up and do more.
What’s needed, Wild says, is the support and guidance to help them make career decisions that will suit their skills, strengths, and interests. Wild believes improved awareness of military skills and experiences will help higher education staff – and the community in general – guide veterans towards fulfilling and rewarding career paths. Tailored support services, mentorship programs, and career counselling can also help to bridge the gap between military service and academic success, helping veterans to identify pathways they may never have considered otherwise.
He points to the skills of infantry soldiers to highlight his point that some skills honed on the battlefield are not easily transferable into the real-world of professional, peaceful civilian life.
“But people come out of years in the military where they have been focused on these core skills and their attitude is ‘I can’t be bothered’. They’re frustrated and they feel unsupported,” Wild says.
Identifying transferable skills
He believes that changing the way transferable skills held by defence force veterans are recognised by higher education providers and employers can help veterans feel motivated to pursue re-training and education to forge a new life in the civilian workforce.
“If you’ve had 20 years in the army, learning how to kill people is not transferable in the real world in the same way that someone who was driving heavy equipment in the defence force might be able to take those skills into the civilian workforce – but you could be become a cook, or get a trade, and enjoy a new career that draws on your ability to be part of a team.”
“By making room for veterans in higher education and empowering them to forge meaningful careers, we can help Australia’s heroes see the vast possibilities of life after the military,” Wild says.
“Isn’t that the least we can do for people who have sacrificed so much?”
