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South West employers reap the benefits of grant to support veterans into cybersecurity roles

Joe Bevan
Authored by Joe Bevan
Posted: Thursday, October 24, 2024 - 14:58

SaluteMyJob, a social enterprise helping members of the Armed Forces community into civilian employment, has been awarded a grant from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The grant is funding a pilot project to support three ex-military job seekers into jobs with small businesses in the South West.

In collaboration with Abertay University, IBM and the Click Start initiative - a reskilling programme developed by the Institute of Coding (IoC) and funded by Nominet, - SaluteMyJob’s Pathways Programme trains and provides the necessary commercial experience for this unique talent pool to compete for demanding roles in cybersecurity, data analytics and AI.

Over the past few months, SaluteMyJob has worked to identify and pair businesses in the South West with graduates of their cybersecurity Pathway training courses. The grant is funding extended onboarding and probation periods for three veterans as they begin their employment. The DSIT grant was instrumental in offsetting hiring and initial training costs for candidates with diverse backgrounds and transferable skills, but with limited commercial experience.

Andrew Jackson, Managing Director of SaluteMyJob, said: "The DSIT grant has allowed us to test the viability of extending our Pathways programme into the first stages of employment. We see SMEs as ideal first employers of people from the Armed Forces community, in a good position to build on their unique qualities and experience to transform them into assets to civilian employers. The pilot has proven the value of the programme both to jobseekers and employers.”

Cyber Security Minister Feryal Clark said: “This programme is something I’m enormously proud that our department has delivered. We’re not only taking the action we need to strengthen our online defences by bringing more people into the cyber workforce, but we’re also supporting our armed forces community to retrain for bold new careers and to build a new life outside the military.

“As our Cyber Security Minister, my focus is on delivering and developing the talent we need to keep us safe both today and in the future, and who better to help lead that charge than those with an already rich history of serving and defending our country.”

SaluteMyJob would love to hear from other employers in the South West who are looking to fill their cybersecurity skills gaps with ex-military talent, please contact andrew@salutemyjob.com for more information.

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