Almost 500 military families have been giving their career prospects a boost through the Partner Career Support Programme (PCSP) pilot.

The programme was entirely online, so families could take the course at a time and pace that suited them, wherever they were based. It was delivered by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and funded by the MOD. Charlene Brookes, project manager at CTP, says: “The aim was to help service partners understand their own career path options. A crucial part of that was to increase confidence in the ability of service partners to progress along their desired career path.”

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On returning from an overseas posting, Hannah [main picture] decided to sign-up for the PCSP. She explains: “We had been abroad for eight years and I hadn’t worked since having my eldest daughter 12 years ago – I didn’t know where to start.”

With her children settled in their new schools and her husband away on exercise, she decided that the timing was perfect to sign up. Hannah had access to a multitude of resources via the CTP platform, including a self-assessment tool which helped her to identify her personal strengths and areas for development. She also took part in webinars covering topics such as CV  development and interview skills, as well as being assigned a personal career coach to help identify her goals and how to reach them.

Hannah adds: “The course has given me an abundance of information for free! I have re-written my CV, improved my LinkedIn profile and gained self-confidence. I now have a CV which I can adapt to each job I apply for, as well as learning more about my own strengths and transferable skills. I would absolutely recommend the PCSP to anyone who would like the support and advice of willing and helpful career experts.”

The PCSP ended on 31 May and it’s not yet clear whether the programme will be rolled out permanently, but AFF is hopeful that the evaluation will be positive: “We have encouraged the MOD to make CTP accessible to spouses and partners, and this has been a great example of how beneficial it can be.”

Head to ctp.org.uk/partner-programme to find out more.

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