Over 100 former Danish soldiers have been re-educated for jobs in the offshore industry thanks to a project geared to helping veterans reinvent themselves outside the military.
The project, Veteran Crossover, helps the veterans find new jobs that fit well with their skill sets. Their backgrounds tend to complement the challenges of the offshore industry well.
”It's going well. We've found a niche within offshore and that means we can find jobs for everyone,” Ole Brøndum, the founder of Veteran Crossover, told DR Nyheder. ”If we could educate twice as many veterans, it wouldn't be a problem getting them jobs afterwards.”
So far 103 veterans have been re-educated for the offshore industry via courses in Esbjerg in co-operation with local offshore companies like Semco Maritime and Q-Star.
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From parachutes to wind turbines
A large proportion of the former soldiers have been educated as ropers. They are tied to ropes and dangled high above the sea surface while making repairs to offshore wind turbines.
”We do this because of the veterans' skills. Many of them have parachuted before,” Brøndum said, referring to how the job often puts them in a situation in which they're hanging by a rope some 80 metres above sea level.
The Veteran Crossover project aims to re-educate 120 veterans for jobs every year.
