Military cuts bring battle for jobs
Wednesday 7 September 2011 2:20 PM
A Leicester firm is at the forefront of a battle to find jobs for ex-servicemen and women, many of whom were made redundant last week.
Gemini Forces, an ex-military recruitment agency, says it has never been busier.
This follows a Government announcement that about 920 soldiers and 930 RAF personnel are to be made redundant in the first wave of sweeping cuts to the UK's military.
Gemini Forces director Harry Dean said: "We have in the region of 19,000 people on our books and would anticipate that number increasing.
"There is a big demand for ex-military people, but in the next 12 months there could be up to 30,000 people leaving the forces, all with highly developed skills and qualities."
The company, whose founder and staff are all ex-military, has taken on an additional recruitment consultant and is looking to recruit a sales and marketing employee to work with employers promoting the values of ex-service personnel.
It also runs the non-profit British Forces Resettlement Service, which is hosting a careers event in the military garrison town of Tidworth, Wiltshire, next month.
Mr Dean said: "At next month's event, we have 80 exhibitors booked offering employment and 15 franchise operators for people interested in running their own businesses as well as training organisations and others offering specialist help.
"Hotel chains, supermarkets and private security companies will also be represented.
"There will also be people there to help service leavers and their families with resettlement issues such as training, welfare and education."
The Government has also announced plans to launch a "troops to teachers" programme to boost the number of male role models in schools.
Gemini consultant Richard Holloway said: "I think any initiative which helps service personnel has got to be good.
"Some of the qualities that soldiers have, such as teaching each other, could be applied to children, although of course the methods are different.
"Military personnel have a desire to help and to give back, so I can see how it could work."
A former sergeant major, Mr Holloway, 42, joined Gemini three months ago as a consultant after 26 years service in the Royal Artillery.
A veteran of Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, he said: "We didn't have access to that many computers, it was all about 50-tonne tracked vehicles.
"A lot of the skills you learn in the military are transferable to civilian life, but often you don't have the required equivalent bit of paper.
"Today, I took a call from another ex-sergeant major who has only been able to find agency work since being made redundant and is at the end of his tether.
"It's a tough time for the services, but if there's any help we can give, then that's the service we provide."
The Armed Forces Careers Transition event is at Tidworth Leisure Centre on Thursday, October 6, from 9am to 3pm.
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