Veterans News and Communications Hub

This collaborative project is delivered by Defence Relationship Management and Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities). The Hub enables forces-friendly organisations across all sectors to showcase the continued value of the UK’s highly skilled veteran community.

Latest news

An employers’ guide to hiring Veterans

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hiring Veterans (published by the Office of Veteran Affairs) was launched by the Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP, Minister For Veteran Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses HQ in London.

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you can make, and this guide will help you to make it happen.

Read the guide

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ASDIC brings cohesion to this network providing guidance, support, and establishment of best practice. Sustainability of the Centres is also a longer-term benefit of ASDIC’s work.

ASDIC also delivers the ground-breaking ‘VetCheck’ service in partnership with Veterans UK (MoD), enabling ASDIC to verify service for our members within 48 hours. The ASDIC network frequently provides the 1950sentry point to the support provided by the senior stakeholders and 1960s.statutory services from across the veteran welfare landscape.

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What Medalstarts designwith a cuppa and simple camaraderie can often develop into bringing a veteran together with the support they may not have realised they needed or were entitled to, providing a vital gateway to those who may be wary of authority when seeking support. This is vital, especially for those dependent on our centres for support. Our member organisations are frequently dealing with suicide prevention, or issues around drug and alcohol abuse, and the loss or collapse of this lifeline can trigger crisis or worse for an individual.

Find out more at www.asdic.org.uk.

Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Clubs

The Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Clubs (AFVBC) is now the single largest veterans organisation in the UK, and membership growing weekly.

With over 400 clubs nationally and 15 overseas, the AFVBC seeks to end social isolation for veterans. The clubs bring people with a connection to the UK Armed Forces together and offers a chance to reminisce, share stories and interact with a community that is missed by most when leaving the Armed Forces.

The AFVBC is also conducting five pilot programmes in HM prisons across the UK, building a Armed Forces community within HM prisons. These pilot programmes help with social interaction, rehabilitation and a support structure for veterans who are currently within the criminal justice system.

Lindsay Beadnall from the AFVBC, said:

“The AFVBC acts as a beacon of hope and a landmark for those who are at HMP Stocken. It gives them a community, purpose, a chance to learn new skills. And somewhere to head to when they leave HMP Stocken. Our young veterans are gaining awards and are developing their skills for employment on their release. It gives most a second chance.”

Find your local AFVBC

Grants and funding

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) supports the Armed Forces Covenant by delivering funding programmes that create real change to Armed Forces communities across the UK.

The Trust is a charity and are classified as a Non-Departmental Public Body, or NDPB. The Trust looks after the Armed Forces Covenant Fund, worth £10m each year.

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund has four broad funding themes now and in future years.

1.  non-core healthcare services for veterans

2.  removing barriers to family life

3.  extra support, both in and after Service, for those who need help

4.  measures to integrate military and civilian communities and allow the Armed Forces community to participate as citizens

Find out more about eligibility and grant support

What is a veteran?

Veterans are defined as anyone who has served for at least one day in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve) or Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined military operations. There are currently 2.4 million veterans in Great Britain.

There are 2.4 million veterans in Great Britain. 40% of veterans are 16-64 years old. The percentage of working age veterans is set to increase to 44% by 2028. 60% of veterans are over 65. 75% of veterans own their home or have a mortgage. It is estimated that 3% to 6% of those sleeping rough have served in the armed forces. 75% are healthy, 17% have fair health and 8% have bad health. Want to learn more? Tune in to our ‘being forces friendly’ podcast’.

Listen to our team of veterans talk about their experiences: transitioning from the UK Armed Forces and what the word ‘veteran’ means to them.

You can find and listen to all of our Being Forces Friendly podcast episodes on Anchor.

Share your story:story: what does the word “veteran” mean to you? AccessUse the platformshashtag below#ProudToBeAVeteran andon use the hashtagplatforms #ProudToBeAVeteran:below:

• Platform X (Previously Twitter)

• LinkedIn

Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan

Top commitments in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan include:

• employment and skills

• healthcare

• understanding the veteran community

View ‘Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022 to 2024’.

• Half a million pounds of research funding set to boost understanding of veteran needs

Veterans’ employment

Career Transition Partnership

The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is a partnering agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Right Management Ltd, who are global career development and outplacement specialists and part of the ManpowerGroup. CTP provides resettlement services for those leaving the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Marines. Regardless of time served, all members of the Armed Forces can benefit from CTP support when leaving Service. In addition, they operate as an intermediary service for employers wishing to hire Service leavers.

To date, they have assisted over 235,000 Service leavers with the transition to civilian life and supported thousands of organisations looking to employ ex-Service personnel.

Find out how CTP can help your organisation harness military talent

CTP employment fairs connect employers with skilled and experienced individuals who have un-paralleled transferable skills in planning, communication, teamwork and leadership, along with adaptability, drive and resilience.

Career Transition Partnership leaflet (PDF, 95.2 KB, 1 page)

Career Transition Partnership leaflet (PDF, 95.2 KB, 1 page)

The Reed Group

The Reed Group has recently been awarded the Gold Employer Recognition Scheme Award.

The Reed Group has created an internal Armed Forces Veterans and Reservists Group (AFVR), a Group-wide community for Armed Forces/ex-Armed Forces staff to connect.

The AFVR Group’s benefits include:

• offering employees a support group of people with similar experiences
• recreating a sense of camaraderie that they may be missing from their time in the forces
• offering an optional buddy system for mentoring new staff, especially when this is a member’s first civilian job
• sharing Armed Forces events, news and experiences

Joanna Chapman, Reed Group business development manager, has said:

This shows our commitment to supporting Armed Forces personnel and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by their Service. We work continuously to create new and improve existing policies and initiatives that support those who have served and those who continue to serve, including guidance documents for our recruiting staff and job application support for those applying to work for Reed.

Their working group will also hold group-wide talks to raise awareness for employing the Armed Forces Community, the benefits they bring to employers, and how they can be supported. Reed opens group talks to external stakeholders to host and bring their expertise, and they welcome anyone who would be interested in attending. If you would like to participate, email the Reed Armed Forces Community at ArmedForces.Community@reed.com.

WhyThe hiringForces veteransEmployment Charity

The Forces Employment Charity stands by ex-Forces personnel through a range of programmes and practical support. Supporting anyone who has served at least one day in His Majesty’s Regular Armed Forces, or Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined military operations. Support is gooddelivered forby businessexperienced advisors, many of whom also served. The Forces Employment Charity advisors are committed to helping veterans succeed through their working lives.

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The Voices

Forces Employment Charity programmes provide a range of practical tools and advice to help veterans use their military skills to stand out from the crowd.

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• Researching the job market
• Job matching
• Advice on training
• Recommendations for courses and education
• Support for writing a CV
• Advice on interview techniques
• Expert industry knowledge and updates
• Events and employment fairs

For more information visit The Forces Employment Charity.

Forces Friendly employers

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Veterans and small business

Veterans: A Force for Business

X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) and the Federation of Small Business (FSB) have collaborated extensively over the last few years, beginning with an insightful report into the business landscape for service leavers: A Force For Business.

The report highlights the contribution of the UK’s veteran population to the small business sector, with 6% of small business owned by veterans in Great Britain. However the report shows that there is scope for this to be increased, greater numbers of veterans starting, growing or working in Great Britain’s millions of small businesses would see benefits for individuals, businesses and communities.

As proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant, and with XFE attaining the Gold Award MOD Employer Recognition Scheme Award in 2017, both organisations have made a commitment to recognising the value that service leavers, serving reservists, veterans and military families bring to the UK small business community; FSB members and XFE beneficiaries alike.

Ren Kapur MBE (Founder and CEO, X-Forces Enterprise) said:

Military service; the education, the knowledge and the experiences this provides individuals, is a wonderful foundation on which they can build their own career in self-employment or business ownership.

Download the report.

Veteran owned business success stories.

Service Charity Sector: Insight and Engagement

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Newsletter

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Related content

• New Employer Engagement Handbook
• Office for Veterans Affairs
• Defence Relationship Management
• Cobseo
• The Strategy for our Veterans
• Veterans Fact Sheet 2020
• AAn Forceemployers’ forguide Business:to Servicehiring Leavers and Small BusinessVeterans
• Supporting veterans’ transition to civilian life through employment
• Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club