Now Brown backs hire a hero

Last week, I received a letter from Gordon Brown backing our Hire a Hero campaign. It was very heartening to know that our prime minister - ok one of his advisers - had made the time to reply to my correspondence during what must have been a very hectic few days for him.

Now although it's obvious the war in Afghanistan and the treatment of our military personnel are big political issues, it's also clear they are not going to be the main talking points of this general election campaign. This time round, the electorate faces a straight choice: vote for change with Cameron or choose 'steady as she goes' with Brown. The Lib Dems won't feature as usual, that is until we end up with a hung parliament.

Anyway, back to Brown's support for Hire a Hero, the campaign we're running for Apex Health + Nursing to persuade UK businesses to give the ex-military a job. This is what he 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."

While some may find reassurance in Brown's support, others are more cynical.

Karen Chadwick, chief executive of Apex and the brainchild behind Hire a Hero is one such voice:

"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 armed forces and this is a major obstacle to finding fulfilling work. I've also discovered that, according to the National Association of Probation Officers, as many as 8,500 ex-military are now behind bars and up to 20,000 are under the criminal justice system.

"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."

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.

Here's what one such person, ex-warrant officer Ian Adshead, who served in the Army for 22 years, had to say in response to Mr Brown's backing:

"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."

So ok, it's unlikely this specific issue will be the critical vote winner for the majority, but for the thousands who are directly affected by the treatment of the brave young men and women who serve our country, it could well be a deciding factor in who they choose to lead our nation.

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

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