Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 151105 on Veterans: Social Security Benefits, what information his Department provides to the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the understanding of their staff of the transferable skills that veterans have acquired in the military.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a strategic partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group and has regular formal discussions with DWP through the Armed Forces Covenant Team to support the transition of veterans into employment. DWP's network of Armed Forces Champions, many of whom are veterans themselves, work with MOD's Career Transition Partnership (CTP) developing understanding of military transferable skills.

The MOD's resettlement provision is designed to help personnel leaving the Armed Forces to prepare for entering the civilian job market and to make a successful transition to employment or to achieve the wider vocational outcome they seek. The provision entitles Service leavers, depending on their discharge category, to access to CTP Services which teaches Service leavers how to articulate their transferable skills.

The provision of opportunities to gain nationally recognised civilian qualifications throughout the accreditation of education, training and experience is an important part of military personnel strategy. Service personnel have opportunities throughout their career to accredit their skills to equivalent civilian qualifications. The Defence Awarding Organisation exists to promote vocational accreditation.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707712/1803-7606__DAO_Qualification_Booklet_b.pdf

All three Services have accreditation opportunities in place. Additionally, apprenticeships, which provide recognised civilian qualifications, are firmly embedded across Armed Forces initial training, with 98% of all recruits enrolling in an apprenticeship each year. The MOD is the single largest deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK with around 20,000 apprentices at any one time.