A helping hand for armed forces veterans to find jobs

Employment and health expert Seetec Pluss is urging armed forces veterans in Devon and the South West to use the bespoke support available to help them find civilian jobs.

Leaving the armed forces and adapting to civilian life can provide real challenges, explains Seetec Pluss Operations Manager Chris Martin, who served in the Royal Navy after leaving school, but there are a wide range of services available.

“In the forces you get trained to survive and be self-sufficient,” he explained, “to admit that you’re not able to do that can make you feel you’ve failed. Breaking down that barrier is the first step.”

Veterans’ research carried out by Openreach* before the Covid-19 pandemic found three-quarters of ex-military personnel found the transition to civilian life challenging, with almost half of respondents taking a year or more to adjust to civilian working life. Attending job interviews and drafting CVs were among the challenges.

Following Remembrance commemorations, Seetec Pluss in partnership with Skills Launchpad Plymouth, organised an online Work and Wellbeing event for veterans, hosted at Manadon Sports & Community Hub in Plymouth. 

Former Army Captain and Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, who served as minister for defence and veterans, attended the event to meet some of the support organisations and said: 

“Supporting our ex-forces personnel is very important to me. As a veteran myself, I joined the forces in 2001, and when I became an MP one of my aims was to do all I can to support our men and women that have served our country. 

“The military provides precious skills that veterans should be proud of, such as great leadership, fantastic work ethic, loyalty and being team players, all attributes that employers want.

“We need to make the transition from military to civilian life as seamless as possible and there is some great support out there to do this.

“It can be a nervous time, but our ex-forces personnel should be confident in knowing they have a vast array of skills in a buoyant employment market and that there is specialist support like Seetec Pluss to help them.”

The Work and Wellbeing event highlighted support organisations including Improving Lives, Argyle Community Trust, the Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club, Active Plus and RFEA, the forces employment charity.

Chris Martin believes that talking to ex-military Employment Advisors helps veterans to engage. Chris works closely with other ex-services members of the Seetec Pluss Work and Health team to target support for military veterans as part of Seetec’s drive to ensure no-one is left behind, particularly after the challenges of Covid-19.

His personal experience helps Chris to recognise the challenges: “When I left the Royal Navy, I first had to learn to manage my rent and bank account and that was a real wake-up call,” he explained. 

“I went to work in the prison service because, back then, the resettlement process was very much about finding jobs in the police or other public sector roles.

“Now there are many more opportunities available, and we are working with employers to continually widen that market within the private sector, or through self-employment, for veterans to use those transferable skills.”