Online Initiative to Help Military Dependents Find Work

An online initiative to help military dependants find work is going from strength to strength
despite the disruption caused by Covid.

The Forces Families Jobs website, which offers training and employment opportunities for partners and offspring of Service personnel, was set up in September 2019, some six months before the pandemic brought normal life to a halt.

However, it continued to grow throughout the lockdown and now boasts 4,500 registered members and nearly 5,000 different full- and part-time positions. Run by a small team from the Army Families Federation (AFF) and its Royal Air Force and Royal Navy counterparts, the forum also hosts webinars on topics such as CV writing.

Jenna Richardson, the AFF’s employment and training specialist, said jobseekers were relieved to have a service catering for their needs. “Military spouses might have gaps in their CVs and that is often seen as a negative by recruiters,” she explained. “But a lot of our employers have joined the Armed Forces Covenant and this gives our members confidence that they are not being discriminated against. Our audience is so diverse. Some want relatively basic jobs they can fit in around school hours, while others are looking to restart careers in medicine or engineering – there are roles to suit everyone.”

Around 800 employers have signed up so far, including major firms such as Sky, Amazon and Tesco.

For more information or to register visit forcesfamiliesjobs.co.uk.