Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken with the Secretary of State for Defence to enhance the job opportunities for armed forces service leavers.

DWP regularly meets with departments responsible for key sectors to identify and promote opportunities. We offer significant support across Great Britain to access employment opportunities through our network of Jobcentres. Our Work Coaches provide veterans and others with the help and support they need, and our National Employer and Partnership team encourage our national employers to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging to recruit veterans.

Through our Plan for Jobs, the Department is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme.

DWP’s network of 50 Armed Forces Champions and 11 Group Leads provide vital support to veterans and other members of the armed forces community, including providing additional help to get veterans in to work. 83% of veterans are employed within 6 months of discharge, which compares very favourably with the wider population where 75% are in employment.

The Armed Force Champions network receive Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) opportunities direct, supporting this cross government accredited scheme to provide veterans and veterans’ partners (and others) with work placements and fixed-term opportunities across Civil Service departments, which could in turn lead to permanent employment.