Veteran Skills Honoured in the Australian War Memorial Development

The Australian War Memorial has been recognised for leading the nation in veteran employment.

The Memorial was awarded the Gold award in the Department of Finance’s Centre of Procurement Excellence 2023; Generating Broader Benefits for the Australian Economy. This category recognises social benefits delivered through the engagement of veterans on the Memorial’s Development Project.

 Director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson, said:  “Veteran engagement is a key priority for the Memorial.  It is only appropriate that veterans are at the heart of the Development Project that will lead to us being able to tell their stories.”

The Memorial is also engaging veterans and their families in the design and development of the spaces and experiences delivered by the Development Project.

Executive Project Director, Wayne Hitches, said: “We’ve supported the employment of more than 50 veterans, delivering approximately 10,000 work hours or more than 5 per cent of all works undertaken on the Development Project.”

Key contractor, David Farrell, from Veterans in Construction, said: “Veterans have been trained and tested in the harshest conditions while serving in the Australian Defence Force and bring the attributes of military training to their new roles in the construction industry: high levels of discipline, expertise working in teams, lateral thinking, and adaptability.

“We must harness these valuable and diverse skillsets of our veterans and unlock this highly trained talent pool to help address the chronic skilled labour shortages faced in our industry.”

Mr Anderson said: “The Memorial’s Employment and Opportunity Plan ensures this project delivers job opportunities and training to veterans, their families and their businesses.

This initiative has seen the creation of jobs and training opportunities for veterans, and the investment of more than $1 million in veteran-owned small businesses.”

“The approximately 6,500 Australian Defence Force personnel who transition into civilian life each year constitute a vast pool of highly skilled and experienced workers and leaders, each instilled with a disciplined, values-based and adaptable approach to work,” Mr Anderson said.

“They bring improved productivity and safety, increased diversity and tremendous resilience to workforces across the industry and the nation.

“We are grateful for this recognition by the Department of Finance. It highlights the important value veterans bring to their civilian employment and the contribution they continue to make to our nation.

“We are proud to be helping to ensure that today’s veterans are involved in delivering a modernised and expanded Memorial that will tell their stories, through their experiences.”