The Ministry of Defence and Department for Work and Pensions recently issued a letter to organisations encouraging them to tap into the skills sets of Armed Forces leavers to help build a diverse workforce positioned for success while navigating economic recovery.
The MOD and the Department for Work and Pensions is keen to raise awareness of the tools that employers can access to in order to build relationships with Armed Forces leavers. Businesses that need talent are being encouraged to register with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), the MoD’s official provider, and the only organisation who can provide access to the entire Service leaver candidate pool, at no cost to you.
By registering with CTP, employers gain access to a range of services including CTP RightJob (a unique, no cost, online jobs board exclusively for service leavers and veterans) to advertise job vacancies, attend employment fairs and other virtual events. They will be assigned a CTP Employment Relationship Manager who will act as the link between your organisation and a highly sought-after talent pool of skilled and adaptable individuals, ready to bring their wealth of experience to your organisation. Live job opportunities are promoted to potential candidates through the CTP and provides a way for organisations to raise their profile as supporters of the Armed Forces and reservists.
The letter details some of the additional initiatives to help bring employers and veterans together including:
- a national insurance holiday for those employing veterans within their first 12 months of leaving service,
- offering a Veterans’ Railcard to support the cost of commuting, increasing the opportunities to join the Civil Service through a Veterans Interview Scheme and maintaining a permanent cadre of Armed Forces Champions in our Jobcentre Plus network,
- the £2bn Kickstart scheme launched in September 20 could also help those veterans who are aged 16-24, wholly unemployed and at risk of long-term unemployment by offering six-month placements.
David Duffy, CTP Contract Director and UK General Manager, Right Management said: “As the demands from businesses change access to individuals that have transferable skills will be critical. Each year over 14,000 people leave the Armed Forces bringing with them un-paralleled skills in planning, communication, teamwork and leadership, along with adaptability, drive and resilience. The work we do with the MOD is important in helping bring together employers and veterans, building successful partnerships and workforces that are better prepared for the future.”
Gillian Russell, Senior Program Manager, Amazon said: “We have worked closely with the CTP for a number of years and the team are incredibly supportive and responsive to our recruitment needs. The CTP understand the roles that we have, and have a deep knowledge of what we do at Amazon and without that I think we wouldn’t be nearly as successful at bringing in the candidates we do into the organisation. The team are constantly innovating to think of ways for us to attract that new, great military talent and we utilise the whole range of services they provide. We advertise our jobs through CTP RightJob, always attend their employment fairs (pre-Covid) and since the start of the pandemic we’ve moved to online events. They have proven to be a great opportunity for our recruiters to meet Service leavers and answer any questions they might have. It also allows us to showcase our brand and form a good picture to potential candidates of what employment is going to be like at Amazon.”
