Gordon Brown backs the Hire a Hero campaign

Gordon Brown is backing Hire a Hero, the campaign launched to persuade UK employers to give ex-military personnel a job.

In a letter sent to campaign organizers, Mr Brown said: "Our Armed Forces are a group of people of whom I, and the Government are extremely proud. Their selfless commitment to duty, often in the most arduous of circumstances, is second to none and any campaign that promotes Service leavers to employers is welcome.

"As you may be aware, Service personnel receive support to help them make the transition to civilian life when they leave the Armed Forces. The Career Transition Partnership includes retraining and help in finding a job and coaching in CV writing and job interview techniques.

"This service has been reviewed by the National Audit Office in 2007 which identified that 96% of Career Transition Partnership clients achieve employment within 6 months of discharge. But it is essential that as a country we recognise the debt we owe to our service men and woman when they leave the Armed Forces and therefore I welcome any additional activity that raises the awareness of potential employers to the benefits of employing ex-Service personnel.

"Once again…I wish you, and all those involved in Hire a Hero, every success in future."

The Hire a Hero campaign is the brainchild of Karen Chadwick chief executive of Apex Health + Social Care. Chadwick was inspired to launch the campaign by the case of Yusupha 'Baresi' Secka who found himself out of work after seven years' active service in Iraq and Afghanistan. In December 2008, when Baresi left his regiment, 5 Rifles, he applied for hundreds of jobs but couldn't find any work. Disillusioned he decided to re-enlist, but when Chadwick heard his story she offered him a job as a care worker.

Since its launch, Hire a Hero has generated huge media interest and the campaign's Facebook page now has over 1,200 members, many of whom are disillusioned ex-service personnel unable to find work and worried partners.

Chadwick welcomes the prime minister's support but feels more needs to be done:

"We're delighted Mr Brown and his colleagues are supporting Hire a Hero, but I'm not sure these brave young men and women are getting enough help. Since we launched the campaign, we've been speaking with many ex-service personnel who are far from happy with the support they received when they discharged. Many feel let down by the MOD's resettlement programme and I'm not sure the 96% statistic the prime minister is quoting accurately reflects the real picture.

"I'm also being told employers don't always recognize the skills Service leavers have built up while in the armed forces and this is a major obstacle to finding fulfilling work. I've also discovered that, according to the Napo (The Trade Union and Professional Association for Family Court and Probation Staff), as many as 8,500 ex-military are now behind bars and up to 3,000 are on parole.

"We all need to do more to help these brave young men and women. That means the government, the business community and the voluntary sector all doing their bit.

"In September, I'm hosting a Hire a Hero conference in Manchester. The conference will debate the problems of getting ex-military back to work and wider issues preventing a smooth transition to Civvy Street. I would like to invite whoever is in power to come along, listen to what people are saying and change the current system so ex-Service personnel are given much better support."

Ex-warrant officer Ian Adshead, who served in the Army for 22 years, recently found work through the Hire a Hero campaign, but said his experience since leaving the forces was extremely demoralizing:

"I'm a very experienced human resources manager, but for some reason civilian employers don't value my military experience. They only want to know about what I've done since leaving the army. I've applied for over 250 jobs since leaving active service and every time I get turned down I'm told it's because of a lack of experience.

"I speak with a lot people I served with and they tell me they are having the same problems. They are disappointed with the support they get and don't understand why employers don't value skills that easily transfer to the civilian workplace. I'm so pleased people like Karen Chadwick are doing something to tackle this issue because getting ex-Service personnel back to work is a major problem for society and one which is only going to get worse."

Ex-Falklands veteran, Andy Gratton, now runs successful training and security firms and he agrees:

"It saddens me to see so many ex-military out of work and ignored by employers. This is a national disgrace. When I left the navy in 1992 you were given little support and had to find your own way. The transition to civilian life was extremely difficult. It seemed like wherever I turned no one wanted to give me a job. Eventually I joined the Fire Service and now I run my own security company, but it was hard.

"25 years on it doesn't look like much has changed. The current army resettlement scheme isn't working and it's as though more and more ex-military are re-enlisting, signing on or worse, turning to crime. If the government isn't doing enough maybe the business community will, and that's why I'm supporting the Hire a Hero campaign."

To register your support for Hire a Hero, call the hotline 0161 447 6417 or visit the Facebook Hirea Hero page.