SaluteMyJob, a social enterprise supporting former Service men and women into civilian employment, is re-focussing its mission to focus on targeted pathways for veterans, military spouses and reservists to train and discover roles where employers face business critical skills. Given their acquired skills and experience, willingness to learn and ‘can do’ attitude, people from the Armed Forces community are well placed to fill these gaps in digital skills, including cyber security operations, project management and engineering.
Led by South West Cyber Security Cluster and with the engagement of SW based and nationwide employers, the project is designed to attract, select, qualify and place jobseekers from the Armed Forces community into either work placements or employment. Unlike other initiatives that focus on skills training, the Cyber Career Jumpstart programme uses such training as the means to an employment end, not the end in itself. Another key difference is the active engagement of signed up employer partners to offer advice, support and practical cyber work experience. These include Wood Group, Phoenix Group, PA Consulting, Cetsat and C3ia Solutions.
Military veteran and Wood plc’s Chief Information and Security Officer, Malcolm Norman, said: "Wood plc is a committed and proud supporter of the Armed Forces community with a vibrant and active Armed Forces Network. Having made the transition from the Armed Forces I understand the need to realign military skills and experience to be ‘fit to fight on the commercial battlefield. The Cyber Jumpstart programme is exactly what is needed to raise awareness of opportunities (especially in the burgeoning cyber security sector), provide relevant skills and qualifications and, most importantly of all, provide practical, hands-on experience. Wood is delighted to partner with SaluteMyJob to help develop the programme and offer work placement and, potentially, employment opportunities.”