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Speaker 1: Touch the old intellectual snobbery, I thought yesterday rearing its

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Speaker 1: head with news that the Defense Force dropped education criteria

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Speaker 1: last year. So, as a person who had no time

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Speaker 1: for school and could not wait to get out into

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Speaker 1: the world, I was, and still am, very grateful for

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Speaker 1: the idea that you choose the person, not the piece

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Speaker 1: of paper when it comes to work. When I started school,

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Speaker 1: certain ue, well what you needed to get into the media,

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Speaker 1: or at least have a crack at it. These days

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Speaker 1: you need a degree, and I can assure you the

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Speaker 1: quality of those graduates has not changed one iota as

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Speaker 1: a result of several years of study. The military is

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Speaker 1: an awfully difficult place to recruit for, especially in a

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Speaker 1: country like ours. I mean, just what is it you're offering.

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Speaker 1: We don't do a lot, We don't have a lot

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Speaker 1: of equipment. We don't fight wars, We peacekeep and weed patrol.

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Speaker 1: So in a world where work life balance and work

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Speaker 1: from home and four day weeks a commonplace, average pay

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Speaker 1: WAYOUU and a lot of early rises aren't exactly calling cards,

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Speaker 1: are they. So you simply now need three years of school.

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Speaker 1: You don't even need level one NCEEA to join. So

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Speaker 1: here's the thing. Some people aren't into school. And I

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Speaker 1: know this because I was one of them. Not all

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Speaker 1: life choices, work choices, or skills are gained by passing

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Speaker 1: year eleven maths. The military is as much about attitude

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Speaker 1: and aptitude. It's a structured environment. It is designed for

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Speaker 1: specific types of people. In places like America, they recruit

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Speaker 1: people who may well struggle to get regular work. That's

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Speaker 1: the way it is. It's a simple truth. They offer

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Speaker 1: dental and medical in a country where you may not

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Speaker 1: be able to afford it. They offer a career and

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Speaker 1: travel and opportunity. Careers and trades you may not have

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Speaker 1: even thought of. Here. What are they offering? Auto technician, plumber, diver.

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Speaker 1: These are jobs on offer in the military with no skills.

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Speaker 1: Could you do that in civilian life? No, you couldn't.

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Speaker 1: Being good with an engine doesn't mean you're good in

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Speaker 1: a classroom. These are doors of opportunity. If the military,

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Speaker 1: through necessity, can make this work, who are these outside

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Speaker 1: snobs who still believe that exams and results are the

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Speaker 1: sole key to employment. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,

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Speaker 1: listen live to news talks that be from six am weekdays,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,