RMA-RMC-Impact-Report-2023-24 - Flipbook - Page 17
Partnership in action
Sustaining Support for Armed Services Communities
The work to support vulnerable
RMs’ transition into employment
has been substantially reinforced by
the £99,908 award from the Armed
Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT)
through its one-year grant to us from
its Sustaining Support for Armed
Services Communities programme.
This has enabled the Charity to offer
a variety of practical services to those
transitioning from the Corps into civilian
life who are compulsory discharged,
as well as vulnerable veterans whose
employment prospects may be limited
by their mental or physical ill-health.
Our Employment & Education and
Welfare teams work together alongside
each vulnerable beneficiary as they
transition from service into civilian
life, and help veterans with complex
needs back into employment and
independence, providing grants for new
skills training or equipment. However, the
support does not end here as the Charity
continues to monitor and evaluate their
progress in these roles with both the
beneficiaries and their employers.
It was originally thought that funding
would directly or indirectly facilitate
the support of approximately 400
beneficiaries a year. However, the project
has far outstripped expectations and
has been hugely successful in terms of
the number of beneficiaries supported.
This number was exceeded in 2021 (497),
rising further in 2022 with 647 individuals
receiving transition advice. Of these,
41 were directly supported into fulltime employment (up from 32 in 2021),
creating over £1.4M in Governmentrecognised Local Economic Value.
The face-to-face employment advice
delivered included help with CV
writing, supporting beneficiaries
through provision of sessions on each
job-ready activity, facilitating peerbuilding and opening conversations
on options ‘outside the wire’.
24 bespoke training packages were also
funded and delivered by High Ground,
IED Training and numerous others over
the course of 2022, resulting in improved
employment prospects, relevant
qualifications and required knowledge.
www.rma-trmc.org
In addition, AFCFT funding made
it possible to provide another 58
grants to support training needs,
tools and equipment, travel costs and
the attainment of qualifications.
It also proved hugely beneficial in
helping us establish multi-sector
employee relationships to support Royal
Marines transition into employment.
Partnerships have been created with
over 20 employers through sourcing
permanent employment for transitioning
Royal Marines and veterans. This in turn
has led to several new signatories to
The Armed Forces Covenant, and each
individual RM transitioned into fulltime employment created £31,285 of
Government–recognised and approved
local and economic social value.
The grant has also enabled RM’s
and veterans to better assess their
employment potential and transferable
skills, resulting in them not needing
to turn to the Charity for support.
The Charity has focused on a new
pilot initiative with Hunter Troop
at the Commando Training Centre
in Lympstone that has resulted
in an immediate support to Early
Service Leavers who are unable at
the time to complete training.
Additionally, RMA – The Royal Marines
Charity now has agreements in place
with the White Ensign Association to
signpost non-vulnerable veterans; with
Walking With The Wounded which
has regional resource in the North of
England; also, with High Ground which
specialises in rural and outside work, and
Heropreneurs who support veterans
wanting to set up their own businesses.
The Employment & Education team
is immensely grateful to the bank of
mentors attracted from every sector and
walk of life across the UK. This dedicated
group of volunteers is invaluable in
supporting the E&E team working
with Royal Marines transitioning into
the civilian world or veterans looking
to change career, providing help with
training, coaching and mentoring,
work experience/placements,
employment and general advice.
Tree-mendous
success!
Having been unable to complete
their RM training, former recruits
Aden Dennis and Bradley Seager
approached RMA – The Royal
Marines Charity, and in May
2022, it was agreed to sponsor
their attendance at a residential
rural week at Bicton College in
Devon. This was organised by
HighGround, a charity partner
which provides advice and
support for service leavers
and veterans on jobs, careers
and vocational opportunities
in the land-based sector.
It was here they discovered a
passion for tree surgery. Both
were keen to pursue careers in this
line and, with RMA help, quickly
secured full-time jobs with Hi-Line,
one of the UK’s leading tree surgery
and management companies.
They were enrolled in the
company’s intensive fasttrack trainee programme and
are both now fully-fledged
professional arborists (tree
surgeons), horticultural
engineers responsible for the
maintenance and repair of trees.
It is a career that requires huge
skill and lots of specialist training
— and plenty of courage, too,
when having to climb trees
to reach an area that needs
attention, or carrying out
vegetation management in and
around electricity networks.
‘They both have a brilliant attitude,
are enthusiastic to learn and
seem so driven to do well and
succeed.’ Kirsty McNicol, Hi-Line.
We are indebted to Jacobs
for its generous financial
support of this rural week.
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