RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, sponsors of this year’s Armed Forces Day, has been supporting veterans find meaningful civilian employment since it started in 1885 and its dedicated teams are showing no sign of slowing down!
RFEA is the oldest tri-Service charity which exists to provide life-long, life-changing support, job opportunities, and training to service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families, irrespective of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving.
Operating across the UK, the charity is made up of highly specialist teams with expert knowledge and understanding to be able to bridge the gap between military life and civilian employment. RFEA also works in partnership with other organisations and employers who respect and value the unique qualities and abilities of all those who have served.
How the charity can help
The Forces Employment Charity has a wealth of programmes, such as its ex-Forces, TechVets, Forces for London, Military Women, Project Nova and Families programmes. Each is led by a team of dedicated specialist employment advisors who provide bespoke support to help any ex-Servicemen and women, and their families, who may be seeking help with their next career step. This can range from help with creating the perfect CV, finding suitable roles and Forces-friendly employers, through to job/ funding applications and interview preparation.
Upon registering, an advisor will get in touch and will carry out a needs assessment to understand each individual’s requirements and any obstacles to employment. This helps the advisor and client to create an employment action plan including a set of agreed goals.
For those who have wider life skills and functional obstacles, such as debt/ housing/ addiction issues, the charity works closely with other organisations, including RBLI’s Lifeworks, the Warrior Programme for motivational programmes, and Combat Stress and Walking With the Wounded’s Head Start Programme for those who need mental health support.
What people say about the help they’ve received
Claire Gratton served for 22 years in the RAF and sought support from RFEA’s Military Women Programme. She says, “My Advisor has helped me rediscover my worth again professionally. I felt at ease immediately and our first contact phone call lasted for over an hour. By the end of the call I was in no doubt I had made the right choice by enquiring about the Military Women Programme. My Advisor has the ability to connect with you in a way no pure civvy advisor ever could, part big sister, part friend, part comrade, she will help you see your value and give you the mentorship to realise your skills set. I thoroughly recommend RFEA to any ex-Servicewoman and hope this programme grows and continues to help out the female veteran.”
Andy Kershaw joined the RAF in 2000 and spent the following 20 years as an Intelligence Officer. He then found support from the TechVets programme to make a move into a highly successful cyber career. He comments, “Something I looked for during my resettlement, which was always difficult to find, was validation that what I was doing was right. The TechVets community immediately put me in touch with people in the same situation as well as those who had been through transition. I could tap into a wealth of experience and knowledge and gauge what I had done against others. This provided tremendous reassurance.”
RFEA is part of the Forces Employment Charity which is a combination of RFEA and the employment services of the Officers’ Association.
Visit www.rfea.org.uk to find out more about how the charity can help.