The Forces Employment Charity was formed from two of the most respected employment charities; RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity and the Officers’ Association. Founded in 1885 and 1920 respectively, we have the experience and specialist knowledge to bridge the gap between military life and civilian employment and have been providing support for over 140 years.
We provide life-long, life changing support, jobs and training opportunities to veterans, irrespective of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving. The Forces Employment Charity is made up of many veterans and Service family members across the UK who can relate to the AF community and both empathise and empower. Last year we directly supported over 28,000 Service leavers, veterans, reservists and spouses/partners, with a team of 196.
Being a member of the Cobseo Executive Committee provides an important opportunity to come together with other Chief Executives (and equivalents) from across the sector to discuss common issues and themes. A key part of Cobseo’s work is being made aware of the issues facing the AF community and importantly being be able to represent these when required. FEC leads on employment and justice issues and the Executive Committee provides the opportunity to ensure these are understood by members, OVA and MOD. There is a high degree of collaboration which is quite rare within the wider charity sector and allows improved understanding and awareness of what we are all doing to avoid duplication or gaps, and help us all provide our often life-saving support alongside each other. The insights from being a Cobseo Member provide an overview of the sector that would be difficult to access without Cobseo’s leadership and reach, which ensures that we can continue to provide the best possible support to our beneficiaries.
Being a member of Cobseo provides huge insight into the wider military sector and helps to ensure that our support is coherent with and complimentary to the work of other charities. As Chair of the Employment Cluster, I am a huge proponent of collaborative working and can see the benefits that sharing information and best practice can do to enhance our overall support. One of the key benefits is being able to work alongside colleagues who all provide different types of support to the Armed Forces Community and to be able to learn from one another and to cross refer where we can to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible support to beneficiaries.
I am hugely proud to work in this sector which makes such a difference to so many people’s lives. We are passionate about employment because we think that if we can get this right then many other challenges facing veterans don’t occur. But more importantly it is clear that our veterans and spouses/partners are so valuable to employers and the wider community, and so it is important we push that narrative. The work of the sector is life changing and sometimes lifesaving and it is an honour to be able to support such a worthy and deserving group of beneficiaries – as well as work alongside great charities full of passionate and capable people.
Being able to support veterans and their families into fulfilling careers and so they can achieve their full potential is an uplifting thing to do and we in the FEC are very proud to have done this for the past 140 years and look forward to carrying on well into the future.
Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here