AIS Survivex and British Forces Resettlement Service forge partnership to help military personnel transition into new energy careers

Leading training provider, AIS Survivex, has sealed a deal with the British Forces Resettlement Service (BFRS) to support those looking to work in the global energy sector after leaving military life.  

The deal will see AIS Survivex become BFRS Gold Plus Sponsors and work closely with BFRS to help former military personnel retrain for new careers in the energy industry, particularly wind and renewables.

As well as attending a series of military careers events across the UK to promote energy sector careers and provide advice and guidance to BFRS members, AIS Survivex is developing tailored training packages to give ex-forces the right skills to get their first energy opportunity.

BFRS works with companies across the UK looking to hire, retrain and offer career advice to the armed forces community leaving service.  

Neil Dean, operations director at BFRS, said: “This is an extremely important partnership for us and together with AIS Survivex, we want to lead the market in transitioning ex-military into new and meaningful energy sector careers through the launch of Military2Energy, which is specifically designed to filter people from the military to careers in energy.

“The energy sector has always been a popular career choice for ex-armed forces and even more so in the current market, which offers lots of opportunities. The UK wind industry alone needs more than 43,000 new workers by 2026 according to the Offshore Wind Industry Council.

“AIS Survivex is helping us to raise awareness of these opportunities at a series of military careers events. The next event will take place in Leicester on 16th June and after that Tidworth on 15th September so I’d urge people to come along to find out more.”

Linzi Ryan, Head of Marketing at AIS Survivex, said: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with BFRS and become the partner of choice for military personnel looking to successfully transition their skills into the global energy sector.

“We have extensive experience of training people for energy and work closely with key employers to develop career opportunities for those going through the resettlement process. As well as ensuring former military personnel have a smooth transition into civilian life, this also opens up the possibility of securing a full-time job within the exciting and dynamic energy sector. We are an ELCAS-approved supplier so ex-forces personnel can also access funding to help pay for training.”

There are lots of synergies between military life and working in the global energy sector and AIS Survivex has a proven track record of helping former military personnel transition into new careers. One example is former Royal Marine, Jonathan Askew.

Cramlington-born, Jonathan was a mortarman working with rifles and mortars but, after developing tinnitus, was medically discharged.  After training with AIS Survivex, Jonathan secured a full-time job as a wind technician.

Jonathan said: “Coming out of the Royal Marines with no technical experience felt very much like starting from scratch and it was a huge transition to where I am now. I’ve now got extremely marketable skills and feel completely prepared for my wind career.”

AIS Survivex has set up a dedicated hotline to provide specialist help and advice for military personnel thinking about an energy sector career. Email military2wind@ais-survivex.com or call +44 (0) 191 3410 395. 

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