Guidance

Recruiting ex-services personnel

From:: Ministry of Defence
Part of:: Support services for military and defence personnel and their families and Support services for veterans and their families
Published:: 12 December 2012
Last updated:: 19 October 2015, see all updates

The benefits of recruiting people who have served in the armed forces and services offered by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP).

The Ministry of Defence’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP) connects a wide range of experienced, trained and skilled ex-service people with employers. The CTP provide a personalised service to employers, regardless of size throughout the UK and overseas. This relationship recognises and builds on the talent that ex-service personnel have to offer the wider civilian labour market and employers demand for high quality employees to drive their businesses forward.

Why employ someone from the services?

The benefits of employing service leavers: talent into your organisation

Over 14,000 service leavers come on to the civilian job market through the CTP every year. They include engineers, technicians, trainers, administrators, IT managers, drivers, chefs, nurses, pilots, operations managers, facilities managers, project managers and communications experts.

Today’s armed forces are accustomed to operating in the most complex of environments, maximising the benefits of teamwork whilst harnessing cutting edge technology to its very limits. However, teamwork, technical abilities and tenacity are not the only attributes that service leavers have to offer employers.

Service leavers have unrivalled experience and excellent personal qualities. They have been tested in highly demanding and pressurised situations and are used to taking responsibility for their actions and getting things done first time. Service leavers are quick to learn, picking up new skills and adapting to new circumstances with ease. They are self disciplined and motivated problem solvers who will get a task done, whatever it takes.

In addition to offering such professional and technical abilities, they are also skilled in planning and organising, teamwork, communication, man management and leadership, skills that have been honed in some of the toughest environments.

As well as these transferable skills, service leavers bring their considerable experience, moral and physical courage to your business.

Services available

CTP services available to you the employer.

The CTP provide a personalised, no cost recruitment service designed to meet the needs of UK employers. Our employer engagement team is split into three elements:

Firstly, developing and managing strategic relationships with employers and employer groups, with the aim of maximising the number of quality vacancies and opportunities for service leavers. The opportunities sourced will be available to all cohorts of service leavers with roles from apprentice to executive level, including vocational opportunities for wounded Injured and sick.

Secondly, to develop vital working relationships with employers, engaging stakeholders across the UK regions.

Thirdly, we will be developing a deeper understanding of what industry sectors need and how that relates to service leavers from across the 3 services. We will be looking at what their skills gaps are, what are the job opportunities within the sector, what training is required for these roles, what trends are emerging from the sector? This will enable us to better prepare our service leavers for the industry. We will then promote this knowledge across the whole CTP and with those leaving the services.

Our Employer Relations Managers (ERM) can discuss your particular requirements and advise you on how best to use the services of the CTP.

Links with the wider Third sector

As part of the CTP model, RFEA, the Forces Employment Charity and RBLI provide discrete elements of the model. This enables a strong link to be made between those leaving the services and an enduring support to veteran’s employment. This link is enhanced by robust data sharing and recognised pathways to support the relatively few with enduring support needs beyond employment.

How to access the CTP and our no cost services

If you need a team or are looking for talent to help drive your business forward, please register your company at www.ctp.org.uk/contact-registrations or call our Central Employment Team (CET) on 0121 236 0058.

Advertise your vacancy

Once registered you can promote your opportunities via our online jobs board, RightJob. We provide an accessible, free of charge, online system for advertising job vacancies to suitable candidates.

Employment fairs

Focused and targeted employment fairs nationwide offer an exceptional opportunity for your organisation to meet talented potential employees and network with MOD resettlement advisors, other businesses and the CTP www.ctp.org.uk

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