Former Norwich soldier tells of helping veterans find work

A new project called Change of Mission hopes to get 1,000 veterans into paid employment

A former soldier from Norwich has set up a new project to get more veterans into paid employment.

James Howells said he wanted to bridge the gap between employers and those leaving the armed forces.

He hopes to get 1,000 ex-service personnel into sustainable work through a project called Change of Mission.

Mr Howells said the idea was borne out of his own experience of leaving the military, which he described as a "shock to the system".

"When I left [the military] it was like going to an alien planet," he said. "It was completely and utterly different from what I was expecting."

"When you're in the armed forces there's a culture where you know where you stand. You've got predictability, structure and you know how to get from A to B.

"But when it comes to civvy street, that's different. So people get lost, really lost."

James Howells said the biggest barrier for veterans was getting through the door

According to the Office for Veterans' Affairs, 79% of working age veterans are employed, and are as likely to be employed as non-veterans.

But Mr Howells, who joined the army aged 16 and served for more than six years, said the biggest barrier for veterans was "getting through the door".

"Many people leaving the military either end up as mercenaries or sitting in jobs they're over-skilled for because they've struggled to move on from that period," Mr Howells said.

"So, what you have is a huge number of people with big transferable skills, from management experience to technical expertise. Meanwhile, everybody is struggling to get good quality people to fill their jobs.

The Change of Mission project officially got underway on Tuesday with a networking event at Norwich Airport.

Almost 100 organisations took part in a networking event at Norwich Airport for ex-service personnel

Mr Howells said almost 100 organisations took part in the event, including large local employers such a KLM and Norse.

"We want to show them [businesses] that all those people are out there, it's just about making that connection," Mr Howells added.