RAF one-star takes over resettlement controls

After a career spent in RAF, MoD and NATO logistic appointments, Air Commodore Philip Miles can draw on considerable experience of managing contracts with civilian suppliers to help him oversee the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). With command, staff and international experience on his CV, he has also worked in both single-Service and tri-Service environments, so he appreciates the sensitivities and needs of each Service.

He developed a taste for jasmine tea during a fortnight spent in China while attending RCDS, so he sips from his cup while we opt for NATO-standard coffee. We sit at a table in his open-plan office so the buzz of conversation and the clicking of keyboards can clearly be heard. The executive office suite for senior figures is now long gone from the Ministry, just as it has disappeared from many other corporate headquarters.

He has been in post for just six months and has the general impression that, ‘Resettlement is a very mature provision. It is high quality and a world leader for military and indeed civilian organisations. There is international interest in what we do, with a recent French approach for information being the latest of many. They wanted details of our provision for senior officers and were impressed to learn that we give everybody the same gold standard service.

‘However, we are not complacent; there is always room for improvement. We have to be agile in our response to developments in the civilian labour market to equip Service leavers as well as possible to be successful in their future careers. They get an excellent start through the Career Transition Workshop, then the one-to-one support and the job-finding assistance, but this will be further improved through the development of coordinated approaches to local training and job opportunities under the new CTP contract. Most of the specialist CTP Regional Employment and Training Managers (RETMs) who will take this work forward have now been recruited and are in post, but it has been important to find the right people for this role.’

Like the rest of the top echelon of the resettlement world, the Director speaks glowingly of an ‘extremely good relationship’ with the other members of the CTP – Right Coutts, and both the Officers’ Association (OA) and the Regular Forces Employment Association (RFEA). He has had a great deal to do with sourcing civilian goods and services in his career and regards this as a fine example of a defence/industry partnership. ‘It is open and transparent, with a single purpose. If there is a problem I can pick up the phone, talk to Right Coutts executives and come to an agreement.’

There is general concern that the purchasing power of the Individual Resettlement Training Costs grant has been significantly eroded because, at £534, it has not been updated since 1993. There is broad agreement to improve it but this would have to be cost-neutral, so he needs to find places to save money to offset any increase. ‘The increased emphasis on regional delivery of services under the new contract may offer chances to save travel and subsistence costs while giving more choice and flexibility to the Service leaver. Of course, central and local liaison happens already, but the introduction of RETMs will provide a huge impetus to making it happen more so.

‘We will not put a brake on the choice of training but we will need to be more rigorous in policing the location of courses Service leavers want to attend, to ensure that the money is well spent. This will involve 2nd line (single-Service resettlement specialists) because travel and subsistence is single-Service money. We must also try to ensure that Service accommodation is, as far as possible, available near where the training takes place, so money now necessarily spent on hotel bills can be used to fund training. This is already a problem at Aldershot and we are considering where the Resettlement Training Centre should best be placed in future.’

In a busy first few months he has visited most Regional Resettlement Centres (RRCs), including Nepal. Not surprisingly many ex-Gurkhas want to work in the UK and new HM Forces immigration rules make this easier to do. All Gurkha Servicemen still go back home on discharge because it takes time to get leave to stay in the UK. So Nepal has Right Job database facilities with an employment consultant and support to provide a full resettlement service.

‘The resettlement process is a gradual transition from 1st line (in the unit) to 2nd line (single-Service) and then to the 3rd line (CTP) as appropriate. We recognise that civilians are much more in charge of their own destiny than Service people so the system becomes progressively more civilianised as people go through it. But the bottom line is the results: more than 96 per cent of Service leavers who used CTP services are in suitable employment within six months of discharge.’

He acknowledges ‘an occasional 1st line issue, which gets resolved speedily and is often due to a new person in post going through the learning curve. But resettlement staffs work together: single-Service 2nd line resettlement staff run training sessions for 1st line, and the RRCs (3rd line) provide regular feedback to 2nd line. Essentially, 1st line provides information (regulations and signposts), 2nd line provides advice, while 3rd line provides guidance and assistance. But we do need to improve awareness so that people know when to start resettlement, and we hope that we can exploit the new Joint Personnel Administration IT system to help in this.’

The Director is clear that, ‘I am all in favour of using Learning Credits with a view to future employment but I would counsel some caution. More than two years out from leaving, people would have not had a career interview, and the job market is very dynamic so the demand for particular skills may not be the same as when they actually leave the Service. Consequently, the best use of Standard Learning Credits (SLCs) and Enhanced Learning Credits (ELCs) is for people to broaden career options and get learning platforms, without getting too vocational too early.

‘There are rules for using Learning Credits for some resettlement training but it can be possible, for example, to pay for training using the IRTC grant and pay for an exam using SLCs. However, it is important to take your Personal Development Record when starting with an Employment Consultant, and always bear in mind that the main purpose of resettlement training is either to convert competencies into recognised civilian qualifications or enable individuals to make a change of career direction.’

Early Service Leavers (ESLs), he believes, ‘Now have a safety net that they have never had before. The majority have been unsuccessful in training, although some have been invited to leave early for other reasons. As a good employer we seek to help out to a degree. The safety net consists of an initial unit interview with a qualified officer who, among other things, asks specific questions about such matters as housing to assess any vulnerability to social exclusion.

‘Leavers are signposted to the correct authority, ex-Service welfare organisation or JobCentre. They can access JobCentre Plus immediately and also get local signposting help from the OA and the RFEA. ESLs assessed as vulnerable can be referred to 2nd line and 3rd line resettlement. Those with health or disability issues can also be put in touch with specialist providers such as Remploy and the Royal British Legion Vocational Assessment Centre, or get help from appropriate ex-Service organisations like Combat Stress.

‘We need to do some more work to see how effective the new ESL initiative is in getting such leavers into civilian employment. The results of sampling work so far have been inconclusive because we ran into problems of data disclosure. We have now overcome these if leavers agree to waive their data protection rights, so the new Form 1173A, to be introduced in April, will have a section to do this. We would then be able to get information on the numbers of ESLs who are paying tax and are therefore employed. The information would only be in raw numbers of people and not allow us access to any personal information on who is paying tax and how much. The new forms go out on 1 April this year and we will track data from September, so the figures should be available from April 2007.

‘I must add that the Armed Forces resettlement provision would not even be contemplated by the vast majority of civilian organisations. Service leavers also have valuable and well-developed soft skills like integrity, reliability, loyalty, team-working and a solid work ethic.’

His priorities are to make the new contract perform. He believes there has been a good start but some parts will take time to develop as RETMs come into place and local knowledge increases. He also plans to work to ensure RRCs and Resettlement Training Centre facilities are in the right places for new Service locations. In the short term he sees ‘the delivery of a high-quality and effective resettlement service to members of the Royal Irish Home Service, making an important contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process and normalisation.

‘I’m thoroughly enjoying the challenge,’ he says. ‘Apart from as a commander and line manager – and a stint as a Staff College tutor – this is the first time I have been involved in the human resources business. I get a real buzz from success in getting resources to develop resettlement provision, particularly if the payback is quick.’

‘By the way, I think Quest is a very high-standard magazine that contains many thoughtful articles and provides excellent advice to Service leavers. I can honestly commend to its readers.’