More than 500 military personal attended the Career Transition Partnership’s Employment Fair in Bournemouth.

While there, they met with representatives from more 130 leading British businesses.

The CTP is a partnering agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Right Management Ltd, the global career and talent development expert within ManpowerGroup.

This is the eighth CTP Employment Fair this year and is part of a full programme of 11 events throughout the UK in 2024. Employers who attended the Bournemouth event represented a wide range of sectors including retail, manufacturing, renewables, and engineering.

Leavers of the Armed Forces are highly driven, skilled and ‘work-ready’, but often need support in weighing up their options to find the next suitable career pathway.

Adrian Peters, Operations Director at CTP, says: “With excellent transferable skills and experience, Service leavers bring many valuable characteristics to the wider business community.

“Their contribution is particularly needed right now, with employers across the country struggling to recruit and retain talent – a consequence of skills shortfalls reported across all sectors in the UK, which have reached an 18-year high of 80 per cent.

“CTP Employment Fairs play a vital role in helping with this nationwide struggle, enabling organisations to fill key skills gaps and job vacancies while providing new futures for thousands of Service leavers each year.”

One of the businesses that had a presence at the event is Centrica.

Laura Blair, Head of Programme. Veteran, Centrica Ex-Forces Pathway “Wow! What a fantastic, impactful event for Centrica.

“The CTP employment fairs allow us to engage directly with a variety of talented Service Leavers – and this event was no different. Superbly organised and buzzing throughout the day – we came away with lots of interest in our Forces Pathway.”

ManpowerGroup’s latest talent shortage survey (TSS) data uncovered that 80% of UK businesses are finding difficulty in filling roles. Events like CTP support in finding the candidates for businesses.

Natalie Gillette, Talent Acquisition, SiXworks in attendance said: “Attending CTP Employment Fairs is invaluable for SiXworks, providing a unique opportunity to connect with service leavers and showcase our career opportunities.

These fairs strengthen our community ties and highlight our commitment to supporting veterans. Service leavers bring discipline, dedication, and problem-solving skills essential for IT innovation.

We seek individuals with a military background for their work ethic, technical skills, and adaptability. All qualities crucial for our secure-by-design solutions, cloud computing, and advanced infrastructure projects.”

The CTP provides resettlement services for those leaving the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines regardless of time served, it has been the official provider of Armed Forces resettlement for 25 years, helping 280,000 Service leavers make their move into civilian life.

• https://www.ctp.org.uk/

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