Making the best of yourself

To some people – hopefully a small minority of Quest readers – this article will make little sense and will most certainly not encourage any action. To them we say: ‘Sleep on. The first time you will understand that lifelong learning applies to you as well as to your contemporaries will be when your 22 years are finished, when you have not reached the rank of which you were capable and when you are not ready to make your way in a second career.’

You may be fortunate and survive, but you are more likely to be stuck in a dead-end job eking out a pension, if you are lucky enough to have earned one, and bewailing the fact that all those dreams you had when you left school have now become nightmares. Stuck with family, mortgage, debt and a lack of qualifications, you are going to find it difficult to improve your life. You will probably also have found that you missed that next rung of the career ladder in uniform because there was someone just a bit better qualified than you.

Learning is no longer about theories and cleverness; it is a normal part of life for anyone who is going to get ahead. The old (and false) idea that only rich, intellectually advanced, academically gifted people get degrees has been exploded. The fact is that just under half of all people in the UK now go to university or take an alternative Level 4 qualification; so anyone below this is already in the bottom half of the population in educational terms. This does not make them bad or inadequate people, but it does make it more difficult for them to get employment that reflects their capabilities.

If you are perfectly happy in a junior role and have no desire to get ahead, there may be no point in chasing qualifications unless knowing more about things in general or one area in particular is of interest. Some people enjoy life and can make a huge contribution to the general good without ever seeking to better themselves. For many, however, the stimulus of power, influence, money, background, family history, self-fulfilment or even a partner drives them towards ‘greater’ things.

Education and training mean different things to different people. In this article, training is the preparation of people to deal with the expected, while education enables them to meet the unexpected through knowledge and personal development. In other words, training has a specific set of measurable objectives, while education develops the mind in a more general way, with the knowledge gained capable of many different applications.

Training has been a key component of the activities of all three Services for many years. A significant slice of the defence budget has been spent on getting people ready for their operational roles and on the facilities that are required to support such preparation. This training used to be specific to the military requirement, but the last few years have seen it becoming more closely aligned with and accredited to civilian qualifications. This most welcome shift has taken a significant change in attitude, and it is of considerable benefit to the individual who gains the recognition.

Service education is now catching up, and is potentially of even greater value to the individual because it is less role-specific than training. Its content and qualifications may be transported across jobs and exported to new employers.

There has never been a better time for a Service person who wishes to add some education to what is already first-class training. Despite the level of operational commitments, line managers and education staffs are more aware than ever of its importance in terms of personal development. The introduction of Enhanced Learning Credits alongside Standard Learning Credits and Individual Resettlement Training Costs makes some £10,000 tax free available over a 22-year career towards personal development projects that can be selected by the individual. Take a look at Lance Corporal Dougie Gardner’s progress towards a Foundation Degree in Courses 4 Forces – the quarterly guide to making the most of Enhanced Learning Credits.

The cry of ‘there’s no time’ cuts little ice. Military leave is generous, the routine working day is often short, and a great deal of time on operations may be spent waiting. The civilian who is working regular 10-hour days with a 1-hour commute at either end tries to fit in some personal fitness and family life; so comparative workloads are often similar. Both may have to juggle time to be able to study.

Civilians will almost certainly not get the same funding unless they are very high flyers indeed, and they seldom have the same level of advice and access to research as that found in a military learning facility. It is up to each individual to make the best of their working life, their hobbies and pastimes. People who do not get this message will be left behind by those who do; Quest readers should make sure they are in the latter category.

Look out for Courses 4 Forces – the new quarterly guide to how to use Enhanced Learning Credits, from Bulldog Publishing – for ideas on learning and education