How can businesses benefit from the skills people gain within the military? To help explore the possibilities, Cognizant is sponsoring the Danish ESG program Velkommen Hjem (Welcome Home), an initiative with the purpose to help veterans get jobs in private businesses in Denmark.
In August, Velkommen Hjem held a major event to bring decision-makers from the Danish Defense, government and large businesses together to discuss how they can cooperate to improve and build the defense capacity needed to tackle the security threat in Europe. Cognizant is a co-sponsor, together with other Danish and international companies with a strong foothold in society.
What do the different sectors have in common then? The hunt for talent; businesses and the defense industry are searching for the same talent. However, there is a shortage in the talent pipeline and rather than competing about the same skills and competencies, the parties need to engage in a sound corporation on several levels to reach their common goals.
Threat awareness and collaboration skills
Many of the skills are transferable between the sectors. Soldiers at officer level, with international experience, are good at assessing threat levels and evaluating circumstances around a specific task, as well as collaborating with other groups of people. All are skills that could be interpreted into e.g., a project manager role where the capabilities to coordinate resources, client teams and expectations are relevant.
The private sector is beginning to acknowledge the veterans’ valuable experiences. Meanwhile, the defense sector is struggling to keep its talents over time. A possible solution could be to provide joint, flexible career paths for young people: working for the defense and the private sector during various periods while cultivating the wanted skills at both workplaces.
An important part of our ESG activities
At the event, Cognizant participated together with more than 20 companies presenting their businesses together with the Danish Defense. There were also interesting seminars about conflicts around the world, cybersecurity, digitalization, strategic corporation (with, among others, Morten Bødskov, Minister of Defense), as well as real-life stories about transferring from the military to the civil labor market and corporate life.
As a part of our local ESG activities, we will continue contributing to the Velkommen Hjem community and the transition of veterans from military life to private businesses. If you are interested in our ESG work in general, please visit the global ESG section of the web.
