Cracking On

Every year, in the UK alone, approx 24,000 people leave the Armed Forces for “Civvy Street”.  Looking at some of the figures that are bandied about for ex service personnel living on the streets, or in UK gaols,  it’s reasonable to assume that some ex-servicemen find the transition hard.

So are ex-servicemen really struggling to find meaningful employment?

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims that 96% of those coming out of the military find employment within six months – and that all leavers receive resettlement advice and careers advice for up to two years.  What it has no figures on, is how many are still employed after that first 6 months.

But despite the official figures, ForceSelect, a specialist recruitment agency -  a for-profit business with an associated charitable foundation – which was launched to support service leavers, has been quoted as placing the figure of unemployed ex-service personnel in Britain at 50,000.

And for all that the MoD claims about resettlement advice, personnel that have left, even within the last two years, have described the resettlement advice as a “total let down’; with the MoD not being that helpful and entitlement not being properly explained.  These could  be isolated incidents, although it does ring true from my personal experience.

Earlier this month (March 2010), the MoD said it was introducing “Armed Forces Champions” in more than 50 Job Centres across the UK.  It also said that a new venture to help wounded, injured and sick soldiers leaving the Army to find work was launched in February.

Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, told the BBC “The men and women of our Armed Forces are the best of British – they have the qualifications, skills and can-do attitude to succeed in any job,” . “They would be an asset to any firm”.

Veterans looking to start their own business can also access new government-funded business loans and grants which are being offered through the Royal British Legion. “  And yet how well pulicised is this information?  From personal experience I had no idea about this until I happened to see someone from The Royal British Legion, on a totally unconnected matter, and this was revealed in conversation.

Dr Jim McDermott, from the Centre for Labour Market Studies at the University of Leicester, believes the problem is that few employers have any idea what it means to be a warrant officer, gunner or sapper.

“In the 60s or 70s, employers knew about the Armed Forces because everyone had a relative or friend who had served in WWII – plus there [had been] National Service. Before Northern Ireland, it was also a lot more common to see soldiers in uniform. Since then military society has gone behind the barrack gates.”

He also says another thing all ex-servicemen struggle with is the “divorce from military society” because they are used to a sense of camaraderie.

I believe you are very unlikely to find such thing as esprit de corps in the civilian work place.

SAS veteran and author Andy NcNab, believes employing highly skilled and motivated service leavers would create a boost to the UK economy.  And is quoted as saying “No matter where you are in the services, everyone has the same work ethic, the same core values, it’s tribal. As we say in the military, we just want to crack on.”