§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what retraining advice and assistance is provided to(a) officers and (b) other ranks of the armed forces who are leaving the service; and if he will make a statement. [34011]
§ Mr. SoamesAppropriate resettlement advice is available to all service personnel throughout their careers. A comprehensive programme of career and specialist briefings, training courses and elements of outplacement is also available to eligible personnel during their final two years, Training may be undertaken either in-house—two main resettlement centres and nine regional centres—or externally. External training, for which a grant is available, may be through commercial providers, educational and training institutions. Service leavers may also undertake familiarisation attachments or spend time with companies to gain work experience or on-the-job training. Help with job finding is provided through the services employment network.