Work placement for resettlement - The closing chapter.
Wednesday June 29, 2011 at 8:06am
This is the final instalment of my little series of Blogs on work placement for resettlement as today things took a totally different direction. I apologise in advance as this one is quite long.
As I went into work today this was to be the start of week 4 out of the 5 weeks that I was on the placement for, however, at lunchtime I received a phone call informing me that I had been selected for a different position which I had applied for.  On initially agreeing the terms of the placement before starting, I asked my manager and line manager that if an interview or indeed an offer came up from somewhere else then I would need time off (for an interview) or to leave the placement (if offered a job elsewhere), this was agreed to.
On receiving this offer, of course I had to let the management team know. We agreed that I could finish the placement today as I now had to start planning and organising for my new role. A quick exit interview was conducted where I was given the opportunity to express my thoughts on how the placement had gone. Feedback was also given on how I've performed over the previous few weeks and handshakes were exchanged.
So, my short time with Gemini Forces had come to an end and I would like to thank all members of the team for making me feel welcome and for giving me the opportunity to taste civilian life. Would this placement have led to an offer of a permanent position? Well, I guess we will never know now, but all the way through the placement and even on leaving today the future was always being talked about, so who knows???
So what is the position that I've been offered? Some of you may never have even heard of it, some of you may think it's just the old boys’ network at large, some of you may think that it's only open to TA soldiers (or the respective equivalent for the other services). I have been selected for a Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contact.
What does that mean? Quite simply, I'll be a civilian in green kit. I will get paid my gratuity lump sum, I will get my annual pension (albeit at a reduced rate, too complicated to go into here but details available on the MOD website) and I still come under military law. There are quite a few pros and cons involved with this type of contract and as everyone’s circumstances are different I cannot possibly say if it would be right for you, but it is for me.
If you haven't heard of FTRS before, it could also be an option for you. As at today there are 44 different roles on the website (search for RAOL) with ranks ranging from Pte - Lt Col.
But back to the main topic of this blog, doing a work placement for resettlement instead of a course. Now that I have the benefit of hindsight, would I do it all again or would I book myself onto a course?
To be perfectly honest, if I had my time again I would still go for a work placement every time. However, with more planning on my behalf I would have liked to have been in a position to have broken down my resettlement time and maybe have done 2 x 3 week placements with different companies. Yes, the end goal is to get offered a permanent position but like I said in my first blog you can't afford to put all your eggs into one basket.
A work placement isn't for everyone, but maybe there should be more emphasis put on this as an option when service leavers start their resettlement (I now know that Gemini Forces is looking into this for the future, hoping to get as many companies on board as possible).
In summary:
There are numerous ex forces recruitment agencies out there but I've now been fortunate enough to see what happens from the other side of the fence so to speak and my advice is, whether you choose a course, a work placement or even decide to do nothing at all with your resettlement, register with recruitment agencies and make sure you upload your CV (make it is as full as possible, even if it is 4 or 5 pages long. You can then tailor it to any specific role you may get put forward for).
 The guys at Gemini Forces (Neil, Dominic and Rich) are all ex forces themselves and have been exactly where you are. They won't always be able to help but I can assure you they will try, if they can't help then they will point you in the direction of someone who can. The final website that I'm going to recommend to you is British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS), again register your interest and have a look around the site.
If anyone would like any further information on my time on a work placement, please get in touch with Gemini and I'm certain they will be only too glad to pass your details to me.
Wherever your resettlement journey takes you, I would like to wish you luck
REgards Mark
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