Your Experience. Your Opportunities.
Connecting the Armed Forces Community with companies, careers, training and support.
Your military experience has value. The skills, knowledge and experience gained through Service can open doors to opportunities across a huge range of industries and careers. But transition isn’t always a straight line.
For some, the next step is finding employment. For others, it might mean gaining a qualification, exploring a completely different sector, understanding how military experience translates into civilian roles, or simply discovering opportunities they didn’t know existed.
And the journey doesn’t necessarily end when you secure your first civilian job.
At BFRS, we want members of the Armed Forces Community to be able to explore opportunities, connect with the right organisations and access useful support throughout that journey.
Whether you’re preparing to leave the Armed Forces, have already transitioned, are a Veteran, Reservist or family member, BFRS is here to help you understand what’s available and connect you with the people and organisations that can help you take your next step.
WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY?
EXPLORE
What’s out there?
One of the biggest challenges when leaving the Armed Forces can be knowing where to start.
Your military career may have given you technical expertise, leadership experience, problem-solving skills, responsibility for people and equipment, or the ability to perform in demanding environments. But the civilian opportunities that match that experience may not always be obvious.
Explore different industries, companies and career paths through BFRS. Attend our Careers Fairs, join employer Insight Events and webinars, search opportunities online and speak directly with organisations interested in engaging with the Armed Forces Community. You might discover opportunities in places you hadn’t previously considered.
PREPARE
Get ready for your next step.
Once you begin to understand what’s available, the next stage is making sure you’re ready to take advantage of it.
That could mean translating your military experience into language civilian employers understand, developing your CV, completing your BFRS profile, researching companies, considering additional training or preparing for an interview.
Preparation isn’t about changing your experience. It’s about recognising its value and being able to communicate it.
CONNECT
Meet the right people.
A job description or company website can only tell you so much. Sometimes the most valuable part of exploring a new career is simply having a conversation.
BFRS Careers Fairs bring the Armed Forces Community together with companies, training providers and support organisations face-to-face.
They give you the opportunity to ask questions, explore different industries, discover what employers are looking for and speak directly to the people behind the opportunities.
You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what career you want. Exploring the possibilities is part of the journey. And it doesn’t only happen at our Careers Fairs. Employer Insight Events, webinars, online opportunities and targeted employer campaigns create different ways to connect throughout the year.
ACT
Turn conversations into opportunities.
Finding an interesting company or career is only the beginning.
Take the next step. Complete your BFRS profile. Upload your CV. Search and apply for opportunities. Explore training. Register for an event. Attend an employer Insight Session. Follow up with the people you’ve met.
One conversation or application could open a door you hadn’t previously considered. BFRS can provide the connections and opportunities, but they become valuable when you engage with them.
PROGRESS
Keep moving forward.
Transition doesn’t necessarily finish when you leave the Armed Forces or secure your first civilian role.Careers develop. Priorities change. New opportunities emerge.
Someone attending a BFRS event as a Service Leaver today could return several years later representing an employer and helping the next generation of the Armed Forces Community make their transition.
That’s why BFRS is for the wider Armed Forces Community, not simply those approaching their discharge date. Wherever you are in your journey, keep exploring what’s possible.
BETTER CONNECTED SUPPORT
Transition involves more than one organisation, one event or one website. That’s why BFRS is developing stronger relationships with organisations that can add genuine value at different stages of the journey.
Our new Media Partnership with Easy Resettlement is part of that approach, bringing together trusted information, career opportunities, employer engagement and wider transition support to help the Armed Forces Community access more of what is available to them.
By working more closely together, BFRS and Easy Resettlement can extend the reach of useful information, career content and opportunities across the Armed Forces Community.
BFRS will continue to develop relationships with employers, training providers and specialist organisations so that members of the AFC can more easily connect with the right opportunities and support at the right point in their journey.
FROM ATTENDEE TO EMPLOYER
One journey can lead to another.
During the final six months of his military career, Neil Hulme attended a BFRS Careers Fair, where he discovered opportunities with Stantec.
After engaging with the company, Neil was interviewed and successfully secured a civilian role. His BFRS journey didn’t end there.
Neil has since returned to BFRS events representing Stantec, this time on the employer side of the conversation, helping other members of the Armed Forces Community explore their own opportunities.
WHAT COULD YOUR EXPERIENCE LEAD TO NEXT?
Create your BFRS profile, upload your CV, explore opportunities and connect with companies that recognise the value of the Armed Forces Community.
www.bfrss.org.uk
YOUR EXPERIENCE. YOUR OPPORTUNITIES.