In the two decades since its launch, a quarter of a million service leavers have been supported in the next stage of their careers by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), a partnership between the MOD and Right Management Ltd.

The CTP offers one-to-one career guidance, vocational training, events, networking and employment opportunities to serving personnel for up to two years before they leave the Armed Forces, supporting them as they prepare to enter the civilian workplace or further education.

Benefitting from training in interview techniques and CV development, as well as targeted workshops designed to identify and harness an individual’s strengths, 93% of service leavers transitioning through the CTP who are seeking employment, are in new roles within six months.

Ex-serving personnel can also access CTP support for two years after they have transitioned back into civilian life, ensuring the adjustment process is as smooth as possible.

Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, said:

Our Armed Forces develop invaluable, lasting and transferrable skills during their service, and it is right that we support them to reach their potential when they leave.

With admirable qualities such as leadership, dedication and team work, those who have served are an asset to any organisation. The Career Transition Partnership team plays an ever more vital role in helping our people navigate the many opportunities open to them.

The CTP also provides specialist training to those who leave service early through the Future Horizons programme, which has supported 11,500 personnel since its introduction in 2008. A further specialised career programme, CTP Assist, supports approximately 900 wounded, injured and sick service leavers per year to achieve a sustainable and fulfilling career, regardless of time served.

The CTP offers a wide range of vocational training courses to enhance qualifications gained in the military or to retrain for a new career. Courses in fields such as finance, project management, IT and health and safety, and are designed around the needs of service leavers and to connect with routes to employment.

The CTP Employment Team is focussed on engaging with local SMEs and national employers to create unique pathways into employment and ensuring organisations take a strategic approach to integrate military talent into their workforce planning.

The CTP is currently working closely with a broad range of employers such as Amazon, Barclays, Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems, and Openreach to align the wealth of transferrable skills and experiences service leavers have.

Along with online career resettlement guides, personnel can also access advice on wider aspects of the transition process, including housing and pensions, managing finances, and moving abroad. This guidance is part of the broader support on offer to personnel to bridge the gap between military and civilian life.

The CTP is the first example of a military resettlement service provided by a partnership of private, public and charitable organisations, anywhere in the world. The model, established by the partnership between the MOD and Right Management Ltd, is supported by RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity who deliver CTP’s employment support, and is at the forefront of best international practice.

David Duffy, Right Management Ltd, Contract Director for Career Transition Partnership, said:

I am proud that Right Management have delivered a world-class resettlement provision on behalf of the MOD for two decades, helping to bridge the gap between military and civilian careers and connecting Armed Forces personnel to jobs. CTP staff are extremely committed and passionate about the part they play in supporting service leavers and this is evident in the remarkable achievements we have made.

The working landscape has changed beyond all recognition since we started, with an ever more transient marketplace and technology, along with social media, driving change at pace. Despite this, the CTP has stayed at the forefront of delivery, keeping pace with change and continually adapting to meet the needs of our service leavers.

The strategy will build on work that has already been undertaken to ensure that diversity and inclusion is a major part of all of Defence’s work, including in its workforce policies, culture and behaviours.

It sets out what kind of organisation the MOD and the armed forces aims to be: inclusive, representative and a force for inclusion.

A focus on diversity and inclusion will enable Defence to:

• build stronger, more cohesive teams and improve decision making by harnessing the diversity of thought, skills and innovation that comes with a more inclusive workforce and enabling people to fulfil their potential;
• create a more engaged and motivated workforce, which should increase retention, wellbeing and performance;
• enable Defence to better access and recruit talented individuals from across the whole of society;
• generate greater levels of cultural understanding amongst our people, which will aid overseas operations and ensure Defence remains fully engaged with the British society it services and protects.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

We want our Armed Forces to better reflect the society they serve, so we’re stepping up measures to increase diversity and inclusion across defence.

Diversity and inclusion is critical to our success and will give us the operational edge we need. We are committed to delivering a more inclusive culture and a more diverse workforce at all levels.

The resting places of Second Lieutenant (2Lt) Norman Frederic Surry and Private (Pte) George Skilbeck have been marked a century after their deaths in the Great War. The rededication service took place on 10 October at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Montay-Neuvilly Road Cemetery near Cambrai in northern France.

The service was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services, and was conducted by the Reverend Tim Flowers CF, Chaplain 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

Rosie Barron, JCCC said:

It has been a privilege to organise this service and to have this opportunity to honour the sacrifices of 2Lt Surry and Pte Skilbeck 100 years after their deaths. As we mark the centenary of the armistice which ended the First World War next month, it is important not to forget the individual stories of these men who left their families and gave up everything to fight for the peace and freedom that we now enjoy.

The Reverend Tim Flowers said:

It is wonderful that we are finally able to give both these men the recognition that they deserve, and that their families now know the exact location of their final resting place. Now known to the family as well as known unto God.

2Lt Surry was serving with 16th Battalion The King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) when he was killed on the morning of 12 October 1918, aged 25. The Battalion had been ordered to capture german positions on the Le Cateau to Solesmes railway line and had marched north east of Troisvilles to their assembly point west of the River Selle. 2Lt Surry was killed early in the attack which was ultimately successful.

2Lt Surry’s first child, Madeline, was just 5 weeks old when her father was killed.

Pte Skilbeck was killed on 11 October 1918 whilst serving with 53rd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), aged 34. It is believed that he was killed between the front line at Neuvilly and the village of Inchy.

The service was attended by Pte Skilbeck’s grandson Tony and his family.

Tony Skilbeck, grandson of Private Skilbeck said:

We are extremely grateful to the MOD’s JCCC, CWGC and the researcher, Michael Lowe, whose research and hard work have made this service possible. We thank all those whose efforts ensure that the sacrifice made by George Skilbeck, and those like him, will never be forgotten.

We are pleased that my grandfather, having been an “Unknown Soldier” for a 100 years, is now identified and properly recognised for the brave man that he undoubtedly was.

Also in attendance were representatives from 16 Medical Regiment, RAMC, and the KRRC Association. Both men are commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial to the Missing and left behind young families who were faced with the uncertainty of not knowing where their loved ones were buried.

The final resting places of these 2 soldiers came to light after a researcher submitted evidence regarding their whereabouts. Further investigation was undertaken by the JCCC and the National Army Museum to corroborate the submitted evidence and the identification of the ‘Unknown Soldier’ graves were finally confirmed by the JCCC.

David Avery, CWGC Commemorations Officer said:

Second Lieutenant Surry and Private Skilbeck were recovered from the battlefield and buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Montay-Neuvilly Road Cemetery. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of a researcher, we are privileged to be able to mark their graves with headstones bearing their names and personal inscriptions chosen by their families.

Two new headstones bearing the names of 2Lt Surry and Pte Skilbeck have been provided by the CWGC, who will now care for their final resting places in perpetuity.

On the first day of the fourth international Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in London (Thursday, 11 October 2018), £900,000 of new funding has been announced to develop a new British military counter-poaching taskforce.

The announcement builds on the significant success of, and lessons learned from, the UK’s previous work to train rangers in Gabon and Malawi.

Operatives will be deployed to train African park rangers in more effective and safer counter-poaching techniques. The project aims to reduce the number of poaching incidents by catching poachers and bringing them to justice.

The UK will work in partnership with targeted countries to provide support for intelligence mapping, interception tracking tactics and operations management.

Training carried out by the British Army in Gabon and Malawi during 2018 has been well received with 84 Ecoguards being trained in Gabon, which will double by the end of the year, and 120 Rangers partnered in Malawi.

UK Environment Secretary, Michael Gove said:

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most serious issues of organised crime facing the world. In the last year alone more than 100 rangers were killed on the front line of the fight against poachers – as an international community we must do everything we can to support their vital work. The ranger programme we are funding provides professional training and builds capability to tackle this crime across Africa.

This demonstrates the UK’s global leadership and delivers our commitment in the 25-Year Environment Plan.

UK Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson said:

The training we already provide has made a significant difference to the protection of some of the planet’s most magnificent wildlife.

As the British Army now takes its world-renowned training further across Africa, those responsible for this abhorrent practice should be looking over their shoulders.

Maj James Cowen, who led the deployment in Malawi, said:

Having seen the beauty of these animals up close, and how at risk their survival is due to poaching, we are more determined than ever to stop these criminals in their tracks.

Planning is currently ongoing to identify countries and parks across the region with which the British Army will partner and assist over the next year.

Assistance can be tailored to the needs of the specific parks and consists of both base located training, such as command and control and paramedic, and a partnering model that sees UK soldiers living and operating with Rangers – helping Rangers to improve techniques and procedures whilst the UK soldiers have been able to improve their own skills in tracking and bush craft; a true partnership.

Environmental Crime, which includes the illegal wildlife trade and illegal logging, is the fifth most lucrative serious organised crime and is estimated to be worth up to £17billion a year.

The two-day conference in London (11 to 12 October 2018) is bringing more than 80 nations together including international political leaders, conservation organisations and individuals interested in closing down the vile trade in wildlife.

Hundreds of UK troops have arrived in the Netherlands today as part of an epic 2,500km road move to Norway for Exercise Trident Juncture, NATO’s flagship exercise in 2018.

In Norway, 2,700 UK personnel will contribute to the large-scale and complex exercise which will test NATO’s most important founding principle of collective defence in an article 5 scenario – when an attack on one is an attack on all.

With some 150 aircraft, 40,000 participants and 10,000 vehicles, this is the largest collective defence exercise NATO has conducted in over a decade.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

NATO is the bedrock of our defence where Britain plays a leading role. Whenever the call comes, the UK is foremost in stepping up to support our friends and allies across the globe.

This exercise demonstrates the strength of our collective defence. Together we are ready to tackle any threat, from any direction.

Earlier this week British Army vehicles and equipment were loaded onto Channel Tunnel trains before arriving in The Netherlands today as part of the complex logistical task of transporting a Battlegroup to Norway – a journey that includes road, rail and ferry.

Members of the Royal Logistics Corps are lending their expertise in support of the road move while in Norway soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and supporting units will train together with NATO allies.