Scheme to revolutionise veterans career prospects welcomed by Stuart Anderson
A new government scheme to boost access to highly skilled jobs for veterans has been welcomed by Stuart Anderson, South Shropshire’s Conservatives Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. A veteran himself, Stuart is delighted that the scheme is backed by £2 million in government funding and is being supported by the UK’s top employers, including Deloitte, Amazon, and Centrica.
As part of his campaign to make Shropshire the best place to be a veteran, Stuart launched a Veteran Support Navigator earlier this month. He has now welcomed Op PROSPER, the latest addition to the support available and the UK’s first-ever dedicated employment pathway for veterans and their families. It will help veterans to secure high paid jobs where they can build on the skills they developed in the military in key sectors that are helping to boost the economy.
The pathway was launched by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer, who said the scheme will “revolutionise veterans employment across the United Kingdom”, complementing the existing pathways for housing (Op FORTITUDE) and health (Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE). The scheme will link veterans with big and small employers via experienced employability advisors to help them secure employment and progress in their careers. It will focus on key sectors, such as digital, cyber and AI, manufacturing (automotive, maritime, and aerospace) and (renewable) energy as well as the financial and professional services.
Stuart Anderson said:
“As a veteran, I know that there is a huge wealth of talent in the Armed Forces community. Due to their unique experiences, there is so much that veterans can contribute to driving economic growth across the country and in areas like Shropshire. Whilst veterans' employment is at an all-time high at 89 per cent, there is more we can do to help veterans secure and progress in work. So I am delighted to welcome the launch of Op PROSPER, the UK’s first-ever dedicated employment pathway for veterans. Backed by £2.1 million and some of the UK’s top employers, this will help to guide veterans into highly skilled, highly paid jobs in key sectors like cyber and energy where they can deploy and refine the skills they developed serving in the military.”
Veterans’ employment in the UK is at an all-time high, at 89%. OP PROSPER will build on that by supporting veterans into work after they leave the Armed Forces, ensuring they can go straight into new roles or take the next step in their exciting news careers. Veterans and their families will be able to contact the Forces Employment Charity Veteran Support Team on 0121 262 3058 to receive free support from specialist career advisors to explore opportunities that will enhance their success and prosperity, regardless of where they are in the UK. Employers who would like to learn more about Op PROSPER should send an email to [email protected].
