New jobs 'passport' will ease path to civvy street for injured or disabled ex-military
To make the move from the Armed Forces to civvy street easier, a new passport to employment for injured or disabled military leavers has been launched.
The passport will provide a transferable record of any workplace adjustments the service leaver may need – such as changes to working hours or specialist equipment – making it easier for them to transition into work, progress and move between jobs.
Life in the Armed Forces is physically demanding and the risk of being injured is a reality with more than 10,000 personnel injured between April 2022 and March this year.
Some of those will need rehabilitation and end up at one of the 12 regional rehabilitation units across the country.
One person who might benefit from a service leavers adjustment passport is Corporal Joe Tyrell of the Intelligence Corps.
He is on a three-week rehabilitation course to give him the best chance of returning to fitness after several surgeries on his ankles following an injury.
He's on a rehabilitation course that will dictate the future of his military career.
Just like more than 1,300 personnel in 2021/22 – equivalent to four UK regular Armed Forces personnel being medically discharged each day – Cpl Tyrell could face being medically discharged due to his injuries.
A study by the King's Centre for Military Health Research found an unplanned discharge can lead to difficulties finding work.
But it is hoped the new Service Leavers Adjustment Passport will ease the transition to civilian employment for those who are injured or disabled.
Tom Pursglove, Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, hopes the passport will stop people from having to go through unnecessary assessments.
He added: "Also to be able to have all of their needs represented in one place that is then easily passportable so that they're understandable to employers, but also, for example, understandable to the [Department for Work and Pensions] when someone makes a claim to access to work."
The Government hopes the scheme will help support hundreds of veterans not only to get their first job out of the military but also facilitate seamless transitions between positions.
It's something Cpl Tyrell believes is really important, saying: "I've got friends that have been medically discharged.
"The first job they go into is really supportive, really accommodating, but following maybe the second or third job, their restrictions and limitations... become an afterthought more than anything.
"So having something like a permanent status that you could take forward into civilian life would be really helpful."
Service leavers can download a copy of the passport and guidance via the Careers Transition Partnership armed services exit process or gov.uk.
An interactive, digital version of the passport is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
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