November 11th 2018 marked the end of the centenary for World War One and with it we were reminded of the challenges that many of those who had served faced when they came home to their families, communities and began their journey into civilian life. To begin this ‘redeployment,’ the UK Government needed to implement a strategy that had to deliver on a scale that had never been seen before.
Today, men and women leaving military service have fantastic interpersonal, leadership, team working, information security, project management and decision-making skills, but are still facing significant barriers during their Military to Civilian Transition (MCT). Furthermore, ex-forces personnel can encounter issues including; stigmatised perceptions of army life or fears, develop post-service trauma, both of which could damage veteran’s prospects. These insights into the hardships that service leavers are experiencing as they transfer their leadership and management skills from the military to business has been the backbone of Auctus Management Group strategy for helping those retiring from the armed forces community and reintegrate successfully into civilian life.
As a proactive employer we identified early on the immense benefits force’s personnel bring to our organisation. All service personnel have the opportunity achieve a wide range of qualifications and have experiences that transfer easily into ‘civvy street’. From administration and catering through to technical, engineering, planning, management and leadership, there is a skill base for every employer. A common denominator that we also find is the work ethic and attitude the individuals bring is excellent and enhances the culture of the organisation and supports the mentoring of our teams.
Over the course of the last seven years, the company has pledged its support for the Armed Forces Covenant and worked alongside the Armed Forces community to develop a training programme, mentoring and work experience programme, meaningful policies that offer substantial benefits to those currently serving, raised thousands of pounds through fundraising and worked with both clients and suppliers to help them join this important cause. This support has ultimately led to the company being awarded the silver Armed Forces Covenant award for the Employer Recognition Scheme.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a commitment to providing continued support for the Armed Forces community and their families. It ensures that they are treated with fairness and appreciation within the community, economy and the society that they have bravely served.
The covenant focuses on supporting members of the Armed Forces community in a number of areas; education and family wellbeing, starting a career, access to healthcare financial assistance and discounted services. The Armed Forces Covenant can be signed by; businesses of all sizes, charitable organisations, local authorities, public sector organisations and single services. We would like to encourage all members of our supply chain and customers to sign the covenant to become a forces-friendly employer, and support your reservists and veterans’ employees. There are various promises and pledges for employers to support their employees within the Armed Forces community including; promoting the fact you are an armed forces-friendly organisation, support the employment of veterans and service leaders, offer flexibility in leave for service spouses and partners, support reservist employees and offering discount to members of the Armed Forces community.
Auctus Management Group has a number of Armed Force Champions that are available to offer advice and support on how you can apply and also how best to align your business in such a way that it becomes an attractive prospect to those leaving the Armed Forces. We are immensely proud of our partnership with the British Armed Forces and strongly believe that signing the Covenant makes a huge different to both businesses and members of the Armed Forces community.
For more information about signing the Armed Forces Covenant visit:
www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk
Or email: afcovenant@rfca.mod.uk
