Taking the long view

All of us are becoming increasingly conditioned to the short term and the sensational. We make decisions based on headlines not analysis. Unless a political policy is going to make an impact before the next election, politicians often do not pursue it. Newspapers scream about rail disasters and near misses between airliners at 30,000 feet, yet they seldom report the comparative safety of both these modes of transport compared with Britain’s road accident statistics.

The same is true of employment. From a glance at the news, anyone would think that there is no future in housing, the stock market, English football and the NHS. But the true picture is very different.

Every part of life goes through peaks and troughs – some times are better than others. Every industrial sector does better from time to time, and worse. Of course some go into terminal decline – usually as a result of technological developments. There is limited use these days for courses in horse-drawn farm machinery or sailing ships, although both still exist in niche areas.

The simple truth is that everyone in employment is now subject to market trends – even the Armed Forces. The Warsaw Pact menace disappears and peace breaks out in Northern Ireland, so the Services reduce by 25% and have a swathe of redundancies. And then the events of 9/11 and 7/7, and other foiled terrorist attacks, happen, and the Armed Forces are back in business in a big way – in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Translate that into other sectors and the same rules apply. PDAs, bird flu, sub-prime mortgages and Northern Rock have all had dramatic effects. For a little while some major players shook, and the regulators are probably feeling rather less complacent than they were, but there has been no long-term effect on airlines or activity in London, and the doom-mongers prophecies have not been fulfilled.

If we are realistic, we should also understand that the possible loss of 40,000 jobs in London’s financial corporates is merely a temporary blip – uncomfortable and harsh for those who are affected, but of little long-term significance. Those jobs will return, although their specification may have changed, once bust turns again to boom in the economic cycle.

Every Service leaver or individual looking to prepare themselves for the inevitable second career must take a long view if they are not to become fooled by temporary hype. Whatever area they choose to work in, they are likely to face times of both feast and famine: times when there are more jobs than there are trained people to fill them; and times when the reverse is the case, organisations downsize, pay cuts are imposed and unemployment figures soar.

So, the mature view of employment is that it is cyclical and changeable; and that the best people will by and large get the jobs that are available – whatever the sector. It therefore makes sense for people to prepare for employment in fields that suit individual talents and interests, ignoring temporary blips.

Part of that preparation should nowadays include the use of Enhanced Learning Credits; we publish an introduction to this valuable allowance, and urge you to get hold of a copy of our sister publication, Courses4Forces, for more details. Our regional spotlight falls on Northern Ireland – although a small part of the UK in terms of population, it has always provided many recruits for the Armed Forces and recent deployments have resulted in many Service families with strong connections with the Province.

Insurance is a topic that increases in importance as people get older, start families and gather together more possessions. So we present an article that covers the basics of what, for many, is unknown territory. At least those who read it will have an understanding of the principles and the language of the sector when they first speak with an expert to establish their requirements.

Our careers pages look at the emergency services – ever popular with Service leavers and with plenty of them having already exchanged one uniform for another. We also have a completely revamped article on aviation security, which will be of interest to people looking to translate Service skills and experience to this area. In addition, close protection returns to our pages – another firm favourite with ex-military people.

It will come as no surprise that the construction industry is crying out for skills. With road improvements desperately needed to cope with increasing traffic, with investment in public services and infrastructure and now the Olympic build, employers of all sizes are looking for skilled people, and the need is as great in white-collar jobs as it is manning equipment on-site. Finally, for Service leavers who already possess the necessary background, and for those who might be willing to learn, we cover the electrical and electronic engineering sector and breakdown services.

So, we advise readers to look ahead for a long-term future and carry on taking our magazine to learn about the opportunities awaiting you.