AFF’s Employment & Training team, Lucy Ritchie and Sarah Johnson were on hand to speak to employers and members of the military community at last week’s Partnering with Defence Conference, organised by Defence Relationship Management.
They were able to highlight the talent available in the spouses and partners of serving personnel to attendees, who came from across the employment sector. They also promoted the role that Forces Families Jobs (FFJ) – the employment and training platform run by the three Families Federations – can play in helping employers connect with that talent.
Sarah – who runs FFJ for AFF – said: “It was great to speak to Forces friendly employers who want to attract talent from the Armed Forces community”.
Lucy added: “The Partnering with Defence Conference was a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about FFJ and raise the profile of spousal employment with organisations keen to sign the Armed Forces Covenant. We are seeing an increasing awareness amongst employers about the barriers that can exist for military spouses and partners, and commitment in helping to overcome these.”
As well as a great networking opportunity, we heard from a wealth of speakers including Helen Helliwell, Director Armed Forces Policy and Jessie Owen, Director Office of Veterans Affairs who spoke about the Armed Forces Covenant and its relevance to employers – and the importance of FFJ in supporting families and employers. We look forward to more events in the future which will allow us to spread the word and most importantly, assist Forces families members to find employment.
POSTED ON 14 MARCH 2023