From ‘deployment to employment’: Tees Valley recruitment firm opens doors to ex-forces candidates

Ahead of Armed Forces Day this Saturday, the ex-Army managing director of a specialist recruitment firm is highlighting the “significant skills” former members of the Army, Navy or Royal Air Force have to offer in civilian life.

Sim Hall, the founder of Populus Select, a global recruitment firm based in Tees Valley, believes that many former members of the armed forces don’t appreciate the value of their abilities and experience in the current jobs market, and he wants to help change that.

He is offering support to anyone who has served and is looking to “progress their civilian career” or take their first steps onto civvy street, so that they can go from deployment to employment.

He said: “We actively search out former services candidates for lots of the roles we are looking to fill, especially in engineering. The issue we find is many people don’t know how to properly sell their experience in a way non-military people understand. But because I’ve worked on both sides, and I can help them with that.

“I’ve had some employers tell me it’s like I am acting as a translator helping them understand the significance of what a candidate is telling them about their military career.

“People who have served can be very desirable from an employer perspective. They are reliable, cool under pressure, work well independently or as part of a larger team, and have lots of specialist skills thanks to their training.”

Populus, which supports The Forces Employment Charity jobs board and is a member of the British Legion, is offering assistance to anyone who served to update their CV, coach them on interview techniques and, if possible, put them forward to clients who are recruiting for relevant roles.

Sim added: “There were a record 1.7 million total active job adverts at the beginning of June, so there is clearly very high demand. And that’s in almost every town and city across the UK, and is reflected globally, and for almost every type of role. It’s a great time to be looking for a new start or to take that next step.”