Veterans are now guaranteed passage to the next round of recruitment by all central government departments, known as the Great Place to Work scheme.
The announcement comes as the country celebrates Armed Forces Week, which honors military people, their families, and veterans.
According to new numbers revealed today, 800 veterans have already been offered jobs through the program. The government is taking initiatives to increase veteran employability, which we all know is essential for a happy life.
A successful recruitment cycle for the new Advance into Justice program, which places veterans in prison officer positions, was also completed recently.
Meanwhile, more than £1 million has been invested in a new digital service for veterans that will allow individuals to authenticate their veteran status quickly and easily online.
The project, which will be available to all veterans in 2023, will make it easier and faster for veterans to demonstrate their military service in order to access a variety of government and charity services, as well as cut down on waiting times and the risk of fraud.
Steve Barclay, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said:
Our digital ID initiatives will help to make a genuine difference in the lives of our veterans by allowing us to more quickly identify individuals who require targeted assistance, allowing us to get them through the system more swiftly and get them what they require.
We’re also investing a lot of effort into getting our veterans back to work, recognizing their incredible abilities and pointing them in the direction of wonderful job possibilities in cyber security, prisons, and logistics.
I’m motivated to make the UK the finest country in the world to be a veteran, which involves leveraging government authority to effect change and collaborating with the nonprofit sector to make a difference.
This digital verification is also a necessary step in the rollout of Phase 2 of the Veterans ID card. The ID card, which has been handed to all military personnel who leave since December 2018, allows veterans to access specialized support and services while maintaining a concrete link to their military career.
There has been progress in improving veterans’ healthcare. Op COURAGE, the NHS England’s unique mental health pathway for veterans, has launched, funded by an annual investment of over £17 million and an additional £2.7 million over the next three years.
From April 2023, the service will combine three specialized veterans’ mental health services into a single long-term integrated program.
Veterans’ wait times for assessments through the Transition, Intervention, and Liaison Service (TILS), one of the three services included in Op COURAGE, have decreased from 6 weeks in 2018/19 to 2 weeks in 2021/22, meeting the 14-day goal.
Since the publication of the Action Plan, the number of ‘Veteran-Friendly’ GP surgeries has climbed by 17 percent, from 1,200 to over 1,400.
The Government announced the Veterans Strategy Action Plan in January, which includes more than 60 promises backed by an extra £70 million. Over a fifth of obligations have already been fulfilled after only six months, indicating that great progress is being achieved.
The government is also ensuring that veterans receive high-quality support throughout the United Kingdom. Colonel James Phillips, a new Veterans Commissioner for Wales, was appointed in March to advise on matters affecting Welsh veterans, and the 2021 Census in England and Wales, as well as this year’s Scottish census, will help provide unprecedented insight into the veteran population.
A variety of other events will take place throughout the week to commemorate Armed Forces Week, concluding on Saturday with Scarborough’s Armed Forces Day.
Veterans can enter the Civil Service more easily thanks to the ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ program. When veterans join the program and meet the basic requirements, they are automatically advanced to the next level of the process for most jobs, whether it’s an interview or an online test.
In addition to the Strategy, we have passed major legislation in the last year to ensure that veterans, service members, and their families are protected and supported under the law:
addressing vexatious allegations and halting the cycle of re-investigations against our Armed Forces through the Overseas Operations Act 2021
The Armed Forces Covenant now has formal teeth, with a new requirement to have proper regard for its principles under the Armed Forces Act 2021.
Troubles in Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) A bill has been filed to provide closure and finality to veterans of Operation BANNER.