UK firms not doing enough on jobs for military veterans

Ex-Royal Marine Mark Maycroft says the MOD scheme to help veterans find jobs isn't "fit for purpose"

Firms aren't doing enough to find jobs for veterans, say military charities.

The Mind Trust, Officers Association and Deloitte say there's a "big gap" between the promise and reality of finding work after leaving the armed forces.

Research from the three organisations suggests that while 87% of firms know about schemes to help ex-military, fewer than one in four (24%) use them.

The group spoke to 300 companies with six million employees.

Meanwhile, according to separate data, veterans are nearly twice as likely to be jobless.

A number of schemes are run to help them make the switch from the armed forces to a civilian career.

The main one, run by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is called the Career Transition Partnership, or CTP.

Mark Maycroft spent nearly eight years as a Royal Marine, including one tour of Afghanistan, before leaving two years ago.

'Hard work'

He says while the idea behind the CTP is a good one, it just doesn't work very well.

"[Veterans] have this perception that there aren't a million jobs in 'civvy street'.

"And where would they go and what could they do?

"If you look at them as people they are very well developed, but put that down on paper, and for someone to hire them, it's actually quite hard work."

Mark now runs his own personal training business.

He says only veterans who want to move into security work get enough support.

"I didn't find it [the Career Transition Partnership] very useful so I went off on my own.

"I think the MoD should be doing more. The schemes have the right idea but they're not fulfilling that role."

Lewis Moore spent five years with the Royal Navy but says employers struggle to translate his military skills into civilian jobs

It's a similar story for Lewis Moore, who spent five years with the Royal Navy.

Despite eight months of searching and hundreds of job applications, he has been invited to 12 interviews - and he's still looking for a job.

While he is working part-time he says it's "not a career" and believes bosses can't see how his military experience could benefit them.

"All people from the military gain some knowledge and experience in leadership.

"We learn reporting and presentation skills.

"In addition there is [the Royal Navy's] C2DRIL - commitment, courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity and loyalty."

The report's author Chris Recchia, head of Deloitte's military transition and talent programme, says translating those skills is key.

"We want to galvanise UK companies into greater awareness about what veterans can bring to their business.

"Employers have told us there is a skills' gap and our research shows that the vast majority of veterans have the skills to fill that gap.

"Business leaders need to understand that hiring veterans is not just the right thing to do. It also makes business sense."

The Ministry of Defence said: "The vast majority of people leaving the armed forces successfully get good jobs.

"We fully support them through our Career Transition Partnership with guidance and training to transfer their skills into a new career.

"We have also signed up more than 1,000 employers to the Armed Forces Covenant with firm commitments to support our people."

Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat