The charity Reading Force (a Cobseo member) is jointly hosting a conference on 3 November 2025 on the skills and aptitudes of military partners. This will be held at Kingston University.
The forum is consciously forward-looking, collaborative, and optimistic. It builds on research done at Kingston into how best to prepare for the world of work and the skills required. What was observed was a strong match between competencies and skills sought by employers with those acquired through practical experience as a Forces partner (e.g. resilience, flexibility, creativity, diplomacy – and the ability to manage change).
The conference will examine these overlaps, consider the blockages to partner employment (e.g. AI programmed to look for ‘unreliable patterns’ on CVs; regular moving), explore solutions, and look to the future. The programme so far includes contributions from employers, the Ministry of Defence, organisations and charities supporting partners in securing employment, and the partners themselves.
Contributions to the programme are actively welcomed from all involved, whether based on employee-relationships, strategic initiatives or first-hand experience as a military partner. If you would like to take part, in any capacity, please email Rev’d Professor Alison Baverstock alison@readingforce.org.uk
Attendance is free but must be booked. Link is here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1376175079709?aff=oddtdtcreator
