The job market has been feeling a little cool in places, but not everywhere. Heading into the end of the year, a few sectors in both the UK and US are actively recruiting, and they’re crying out for the kind of transferable skills the armed forces community has in spades.
Forget “spray and pray” CV tactics. If you know where demand is rising, you can target properly and move faster than the civvies still fiddling with their LinkedIn bios.
UK Sectors on the Up
Financial services
Banks and insurers are ramping up hiring on the back of government reforms designed to make the UK more competitive.
Translation: lots of rules are changing, they need people who can handle complexity, compliance, and strategic planning. If you’ve worked with regulations, logistics, or budgets that didn’t bend, you’ll be more comfortable here than you think.
Technology (AI, cybersecurity, digital transformation)
Firms are piling money into automation and data. Think signals, comms, and systems roles in uniform - same mindset, different acronyms. Cybersecurity is a natural bridge if you’ve worked with secure comms or information ops. And don’t ignore data centres: demand for people who can keep critical infrastructure powered, cooled, and secure is booming. Veterans who’ve kept complex systems running under pressure are exactly what this industry wants.
Healthcare and social care
The NHS is expanding, private care is scaling, and ops and logistics are in the spotlight. Trusts are hiring operations managers, hospital administrators, service planners, and compliance leads to handle growing patient demand. On the logistics side, supply chain managers, procurement staff, inventory controllers, and medical drivers are in demand - especially for cold chain work (moving items at a specific temperature) with vaccines and treatments. Veterans who’ve kept kit, people, and supplies moving under pressure will slot straight in.
Temporary and contract roles
Employers are playing cautious with budgets. They want flexibility, which means short-term contracts are everywhere. It’s not glamorous, but it can get you a foot in the door. Many veterans already operate well in time-bound deployments - contract work is just the civilian version.
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US Sectors on the Up
AI and technology
The US is going full throttle on AI build-out. Software developers, AI specialists, data scientists, and integration engineers are in demand. But also roles in AI compliance and regulation, thanks to new state laws. On top of that, data centres are expanding fast - they need people to manage operations, tackle the power problem, and keep networks secure. If you’ve worked with doctrine, governance, or critical infrastructure, you’ll find plenty of overlap.
Healthcare and social assistance
A rise in job roles in August and September, and plenty aren’t clinical. Health systems want ops staff, workflow planners, and compliance managers to make delivery more efficient. Logistics is booming too - supply chain analysts, medical couriers, inventory managers, and patient transport roles are all growing fast. For veterans used to moving people and resources reliably, it’s a direct skills match.
Leisure and hospitality
Many, many new openings last month. Hotels, restaurants, travel - all looking for disciplined staff who can run operations smoothly. Leadership, team management, and customer-facing confidence are what they’ll pay for.
AI regulation and compliance
A new niche, but growing quickly. Every state seems to be drafting its own AI laws, and companies are hiring specialists to keep pace. Veterans with a background in policy, intelligence, or rules-heavy environments should pay attention.
The Transferable Skills Advantage
Here’s where you’ve got the edge over your civilian competition:
- Leadership under pressure — You’ve made snap decisions with real consequences. That trumps “managed a project in Microsoft Teams” every time.
- Problem-solving — Whether it was kit failure in theatre or comms down mid-exercise, you’ve learned to fix issues fast and without a fuss. Employers want that mindset.
- Compliance and regulation — From NATO standards to safety drills, you already know how to navigate complex rules without losing sight of the mission.
- Training and mentoring — Many industries need people who can teach as well as do. Your instructional time counts.
- Resilience — Rejection emails won’t break you. (Well, they’ll annoy you, but you’ll crack on.)
Bottom Line
Technology and healthcare are the big winners across both markets. The US is also seeing strong growth in leisure, retail, and AI compliance, while the UK is leaning into finance, tech, and care.
The opportunities are there, but only if you can translate your military skills into civilian language.
At Redeployable, we leverage AI to make that translation simple, transparent, and tailored to you. Our tools map your skills to roles across finance, healthcare, tech, and beyond - highlighting jobs you might not have considered and giving you step-by-step guidance so resettlement isn’t a guessing game. So why not try it?