The Officers’ Association is developing a new training programme, in conjunction with Business in the Community (BITC), which aims to support businesses to develop sustainable military employment programmes.
The structured training will help employers to understand the benefits of hiring ex-military personnel. According to research by Deloitte, the OA and FIMT, 72% of organisations with active ex-military recruitment programmes recommend employing veterans; 53% of organisations that employ veterans find they are promoted more quickly than other colleagues and 79% find they take less sick leave. Yet despite the rewards, employers often struggle to recognise veterans’ skills when recruiting.
The training course will therefore support participating organisations to develop internal processes and programmes for working with Veterans and compliment the OA’s existing resources for employers and its Employers Network. These encourage best practice and provide practical advice, support, toolkits and peer-to-peer support. The new programme is aimed at HR and CR professionals as well as line managers working in a diverse range of sectors.