Current News

Ministry of Defence redundancies provide opportunities for recruiters to help Armed Forces personnel back into work

Recruiters can play their part in assisting Armed Forces personnel who have been made redundant by the Ministry of Defence to find the right jobs in the private sector which require the specialist skills they possess,  the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP) has said.
 
Last week, the MoD announced 2,000 personnel would be made redundant as the first tranche of its Armed Forces cutbacks. To help them make their first tentative steps back into “Civvy Street” it will be crucial that they are given the best advice on how to make that transition so that employers can harness their specific skills in new roles.
 
One way recruiters can provide help is through working closely with specialist organisations that help prepare ex-members of the Armed Forces to get back into the world of work.
 
Steve Bentham-Bates, a Fellow of the IRP is an employment consultant with the Regular Forces Employment Association (RFEA)  the job finding arm of the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) which is on the frontline in helping Service personnel get the necessary support and guidance.
 
Steve and his colleagues help more than 6,000 people from the Armed Forces get back into work each year.  Steve himself was made redundant in 1996 from the RAF after 24 years.
 
Commenting on the redundancies and the process through which both the CTP and recruiters can help Service personnel, Steve says: “The CTP is there to help them through the transition and to prepare for civilian life, from creating CVs, identifying training needs and effective job searching.  In addition, we help them use the specialist knowledge of 24 regionally based recruitment consultants to source and help them apply for vacancies which match their skills.”

Steve added that because of the increasing numbers coming out of the Armed Forces, the CTP would like to hear from other REC and IRP members who would like to assist helping them find jobs for the latest tranche of Armed Forces personnel, go to https://www.ctp.org.uk