§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department has conducted into the time taken for service men and women leaving the armed forces to obtain employment; and if he will make a statement. [10452]
§ Mr. SoamesMy Department has conducted a post-exit survey of service leavers since 1992 designed to evaluate the effectiveness of its resettlement services. The survey includes data on the employment status of respondents three months after discharge. Previously a copy of the then current survey was placed in the Library of the House, 12 May 1994,Official Report, column 200. Three thousand five hundred returns to date indicate that 81 per cent. of service leavers are employed or otherwise engaged in their chosen activity within three months of leaving. Other service studies support these statistics. In the longer term, York university's centre for defence economics study into the "Transition from Service to Civilian Employment", financed in part by my Department, is providing a research base tracking service leavers through initial returns upon discharge and subsequently at the six months and two year points.
§ Mr. CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what help his Department offers to ex-service men and women looking for employment after leaving the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [10443]
§ Mr. SoamesResettlement advice is available to all service personnel throughout their service. 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 or educational/training institutions. Service leavers may also undertake familiarisation attachments or spend time with companies to gain work experience or on-the-job training. A separate marketing campaign promotes the personal qualities and skills of service leavers who, in their last six months of service, may register with the services employment network which provides practical help with job finding; and, after discharge, can remain on the register for 12 months. The two service charities, the Officers Association and the Regular Forces Employment Association, which are grant funded by my Department, also play a major role in job finding support for service leavers up to normal retirement age.