University of Sydney To Help Veterans Succeed In The Civilian Workforce

The University of Sydney has launched a program to help recently returned veterans in their transition to non-military work, school officials announced earlier this month.

The Skills Training and Reintegration Initiative for Veterans Education (STRIVE) program, which will run through the school's Center for Continuing Education, will give young veterans the skills they need to transition from "military to civilian life," 702 ABC Sydney reported.

"As we often focus on the important historic contribution of our ANZACS [Australian and New Zealand Army Corps] we can overlook the needs of veterans who are serving Australia in the present day," Professor Michael Biercuk, who co-founded the program, said in a statement. "Properly honoring our ANZACs requires more than staring admiringly at sepia-toned photographs, or buying commemorative merchandise. It requires us to take action and support the brave men and women sacrificing so much on our behalf right now. Leveraging the infrastructure of the University was the best way I could see to make a contribution."

Biercuk said he first saw the need for an educational program while working as a civilian contractor with a defense science agency during the height of the Iraq war.

"I got to know their stories and the ways they transitioned and the help they needed, so I've worked for the last five years to come up with a solution," he told 702 ABC Sydney.

He said working alongside these veterans highlighted "not only how much we owe these men and women, but how we can collectively fail to assist those in need of assistance."

STRIVE, which is currently in its pilot stage, will cover skills from how to apply for a job in the civilian market to planning time and balancing priorities, communicating effectively in the workplace, thinking and writing critically, and using information technology, according to 702 ABC Sydney

STRIVE, which will launch as a short-form pilot in late May, will cover skills from how to apply for a job in the civilian market to planning time and balancing priorities, communicating effectively in the workplace, thinking and writing critically, and using information technology.