EX-Army Captain Hugh Andree is Defence Secretary in The Sun’s Cabinet of readers we have appointed to hold our politicians to account in the run-up to an election.
So when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched Operation Prosper at the RAF Museum in Colindale, North West London yesterday he invited our Cabinet member for Defence.
Hugh, 55, who served in Ulster and Bosnia, quizzed the PM and Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer about the Government’s new £2.1million scheme to support former serviceman to get jobs.
Here, Hugh tells Mike Ridley why ex-servicemen and women make great workers — and that bosses need to give more of them a chance.
FOR the past 14 years I have been helping veterans into work and we have managed to find jobs for 4,000.
But 20,000 men and women leave the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force each year and virtually every one of them would make a brilliant employee.
So I am delighted that the Prime Minister has launched Operation Prosper, which he announced in The Sun yesterday and said he wants to make Britain the best country in the world to be a veteran.
The PM said: “We must serve them as well as they served us.”
I support any initiative that supports service leavers, veterans and their families.
But Rishi Sunak is now the seventh Prime Minister to come up with a plan to help veterans get work since I started our recruitment business, Force Select.
I have seen numerous initiatives like this come and go. So I sincerely hope Rishi Sunak keeps his promises.
The right attitude
We’ve seen Troops To Teachers and Guns To Buns, aimed at getting service leavers into McDonald’s.
There was also one to encourage military service leavers into the construction industry.
But every single government has failed to find meaningful employment for those leaving the Forces with no technical qualification.
It is easy to find jobs for engineers, someone with telecommunications skills or an IT or cyber specialist.
But there’s no real requirement for trained gunners, snipers and tank drivers on the high street.
They should be re-skilled and fill those roles in agriculture, the fishing industry or in hospitality.
Industries that require the right attitude, a certain amount of rigour and which will appeal to individuals who like working outside.
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Even those with skills, veterans often find it hard to get work in Civvy Street.
Despite military HGV drivers being able to drive at night, with no lights on, under fire from the enemy, they’re not deemed to be competent enough to drive through a McDonald’s car park because they don’t have a civilian licence to get a job as a truck driver.
I also asked the Prime Minister why, when the NHS is short staffed, so many military medics cannot get a job in the health service because they do not have degrees.
Some have more than 20 years of experience of literally carrying out open-heart surgery at night, under gunfire, on a battlefield.
Ricky Bushell is a senior technical operating theatre nurse who used to be one of my soldiers.
He left the Army and became a professional boxer, then joined the fire service and then, 20 years ago, became a nurse.
Ricky is one of the most qualified nurses in the NHS but he has no degree.
Every single one knows how to turn up for work on time and get the job done properly
Hugh Andree
He told me the other day he would not be able to get a job now in the NHS.
When I suggested to the PM there must be a way of fast-tracking military medics to fill all those NHS vacancies he said: “You make a great point but it’s not just medics.
“People across the Armed Forces bring an enormous amount to the table with their experience, their skills and their resourcefulness. Op Prosper is recognising that.
“Of course, veterans need support but also they are an enormous asset to our country.
“In fact, the best business decision that any company could make is to hire a veteran.”
I couldn’t agree more, PM.
It is still perceived by too many that veterans have significant issues that will make them a liability in the workplace
Hugh Andree
As many as 20,000 leave the Armed Forces each year and every single one of them will have some level of first aid training and have a driving licence.
And every single one knows how to turn up for work on time and get the job done properly.
That’s why they’re assets, not victims.
Also, each year there are 7,000 early service leavers aged between 16 and 21.
The Government continually struggles to fill apprenticeships.
So they need to establish a military-to-civilian apprenticeship where they’re taking individuals who have already demonstrated they can learn and are disciplined and fast-track them into junior management roles.
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Since the second Gulf War, the narrative has been that veterans are victims.
Only six per cent of the veterans’ community need additional support.
We’re not all damaged. Nor have we all got mental health problems, are homeless or self-medicating.
But it is still perceived by too many that veterans have significant issues that will make them a liability in the workplace.
That needs to stop.
Hugh serves
HUGH is co-founder of a new exclusive service for the UK’s 3.6million veterans and their families.
We-served.com, to be launched next month, is a platform that will provide jobs, housing and healthcare.
It will also offer well-being, financial and legal support as well as rewards and benefits all in one place.
Veterans can register now at we-served.com.
