The Armed Forces’ community is one of British society’s greatest assets. There are 1 million veterans of working age in the UK, with 20,000 leaving the forces every year.
Transition Force is on a mission to give men and women leaving the Armed Forces the advice and help they need to succeed in civilian life. We believe those who have completed their service to us deserve our support.
What is it all about?
Service Leavers can be at a significant disadvantage if they have limited contacts outside the Armed Forces. It can be hard to know where to begin when embarking on a new career and finding a fulfilling role.
This spurred us on to create the BT Buddy Programme to recruit BT volunteers to give Service Leavers the right information and personalised support to help them into work.
Already the BT Buddy programme has been an overwhelming success for the Service Leavers and Buddies who have been involved. Sharing experience about our industry and job roles, and offering some simple advice can be very rewarding.
“My buddy match was perfect and really helped me get the job I wanted at BT. Being connected to someone in BT definitely had an impact on how I performed in my interview and played a big role in them offering me the job.
– Mike Harris, Former Sergeant in the Army who now works for BT
There has been an especially high level of engagement from the buddies who have been involved in the programme.
“For me the BT Buddy programme is a great way to help provide some support to those leaving the Armed Forces. It offers me the chance to interact with them in a relaxed way that suits their needs; especially because the move is a huge challenge for them and their families. I see this as a real enjoyment and a very valuable addition to my day job acting as an ambassador for BT and indeed my own regiment, and I strongly believe the military connection helps settle people and generate good open conversations.”
Guy Voice, Business Improvement Consultant and BT Buddy