Veterans News and Communications Hub

This collaborative project is delivered by Defence Relationship Management and Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities). The Hub enables forces-friendly organisations across all sectors to showcase the continued value of the UK’s highly skilled veteran community.

Latest news

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Find your local AFVBC

What is a veteran?

Veterans are defined as anyone who has served for at least one day in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve) or Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined military operations. There are currently 2.4 million veterans in Great Britain.

There are 2.4 million veterans in Great Britain. 40% of veterans are 16-64 years old. The percentage of working age veterans is set to increase to 44% by 2028. 60% of veterans are over 65. 75% of veterans own their home or have a mortgage. It is estimated that 3% to 6% of those sleeping rough have served in the armed forces. 75% are healthy, 17% have fair health and 8% have bad health. Want to learn more? Tune in to our ‘being forces friendly’ podcast’.

Listen to our team of veterans talk about their experiences: transitioning from the UK Armed Forces and what the word ‘veteran’ means to them.

You can find and listen to all of our Being Forces Friendly podcast episodes on Anchor.

Share your story: what does the word “veteran” mean to you? Access the platforms below and use the hashtag #ProudToBeAVeteran:

Platform X (Previously Twitter)

LinkedIn

Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan

Top commitments in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan include:

• employment and skills

• healthcare

• understanding the veteran community

View ‘Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022 to 2024’.

• Half a million pounds of research funding set to boost understanding of veteran needs

Partnering with defence

Career Transition Partnership

The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is a partnering agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Right Management Ltd, who are global career development and outplacement specialists and part of the ManpowerGroup. CTP provides resettlement services for those leaving the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Marines. Regardless of time served, all members of the Armed Forces can benefit from CTP support when leaving Service. In addition, they operate as an intermediary service for employers wishing to hire Service leavers.

To date, they have assisted over 235,000 Service leavers with the transition to civilian life and supported thousands of organisations looking to employ ex-Service personnel.

Find out how CTP can help your organisation harness military talent

Join CTP for one of their 2022 employment fairs. View upcoming dates and register

CTP employment fairs connect employers with skilled and experienced individuals who have un-paralleled transferable skills in planning, communication, teamwork and leadership, along with adaptability, drive and resilience.

Career Transition Partnership leaflet (PDF, 95.2 KB, 1 page)

Career Transition Partnership leaflet (PDF, 95.2 KB, 1 page)

Why hiring veterans is good for business

Employer Voices

Employer Voices - Jaguar Land Rover

Our Employer Voices Campaign is led by the voices of our forces-friendly employers from the MOD Employer Recognition Scheme.

In the first series, Jaguar Land Rover, HSBC, BNY Mellon and Thames Valley Police lent their voices to the campaign, providing authoritative business-led reasons why they hire veterans and why others should do the same.

The full series is accessible via the Defence Relationship Management YouTube channel.

Veterans and small business

Veterans: A Force for Business

X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) and the Federation of Small Business (FSB) have collaborated extensively over the last few years, beginning with an insightful report into the business landscape for service leavers: A Force For Business.

The report highlights the contribution of the UK’s veteran population to the small business sector, with 6% of small business owned by veterans in Great Britain. However the report shows that there is scope for this to be increased, greater numbers of veterans starting, growing or working in Great Britain’s millions of small businesses would see benefits for individuals, businesses and communities.

As proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant, and with XFE attaining the Gold Award MOD Employer Recognition Scheme Award in 2017, both organisations have made a commitment to recognising the value that service leavers, serving reservists, veterans and military families bring to the UK small business community; FSB members and XFE beneficiaries alike.

Ren Kapur MBE (Founder and CEO, X-Forces Enterprise) said:

Military service; the education, the knowledge and the experiences this provides individuals, is a wonderful foundation on which they can build their own career in self-employment or business ownership.

Download the report.

Veteran owned business success stories.

Service Charity Sector: Insight and Engagement

This film by Forces in Mind Trust provides an overview and analysis of the Armed Forces charities sector. The film is based on the findings of the Sector Insight: Armed Forces Charities report, from the Directory of Social Change (DSC) and is funded by Forces in Mind Trust. For further information, please read the full Armed Forces Charities report.

Video - Sector Insight: Armed Forces Charities

Read the full transcript: Forces in Mind Trust video transcript (ODT, 8.96 KB)

Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities), through its membership of service charities represents the whole serving and Veterans Community. Visit the Cobseo website where you will find the most up to date news, funding opportunities, help and transition guidance for Veterans and their families.

Related content

• New Employer Engagement Handbook
• Office for Veterans Affairs
• Defence Relationship Management
• Cobseo
• The Strategy for our Veterans
• Veterans Fact Sheet 2020
• A Force for Business: Service Leavers and Small Business
• Supporting veterans’ transition to civilian life through employment
• Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club