British army launches campaign in the South West

The British Army has launched a campaign in the South West to attract full and part time recruits.

New research reveals that one in four people the South West are not satisfied with their current career and admit the greatest factors missing are a decent salary (28%), excellent training and personal development (26%), a challenging and exciting role (24%), the opportunity to travel in the UK and overseas (23%) and getting paid while gaining qualifications (18%)1. The Army offers all of these opportunities to potential recruits looking to improve their lives and career satisfaction in 2014.

However, the research has suggested that lack of awareness about Army life and the roles on offer could be stopping potential recruits from considering a career with the British Army. The Army has today launched a brand new recruitment campaign in Exeter and the South West to address this and highlight the hundreds of different roles and thousands of jobs available now in the Regular Army and Army Reserve. In the South West, one in four people (24%) would consider a part time career beyond their day job.

Recruitment events are to be held in Exeter where members of the public can meet serving troops every Tuesday evening from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at the Army Reserve Recruitment Events taking place at Wyvern Barracks as well as other regional events in Bristol, St Austell, Truro, Gloucester, Dorchester, Taunton, Bath, Barnstaple, Paignton, Salisbury and Plymouth.

The research, carried out by OnePoll, further revealed that people throughout the UK primarily think the Army only involves combat roles. Only half know that a career in fitness, construction, HR or IT could be pursued within the Army. While close to a third of people do not realise that part-time Reservists - formerly the Territorial Army - are paid, and two-fifths do not realise that a commitment to the Army Reserve is flexible.

The Army’s recruitment campaign - ‘More Than Meets the Eye’ - launches today (Tuesday 14th January) with TV adverts hitting screens across the region. Designed to attract new recruits to full-time Regular and part-time Reserve roles, the campaign aims to put right people’s misconceptions of what a career in the Army is really like by showcasing the wide range of roles and opportunities available. It features real soldiers and officers from a diverse range of Army roles, including electricians, bricklayers and HR specialists. TV adverts will be supported by digital, radio and cinema advertising that will run until March.

Major General Chris Tickell, Director General, Army Recruiting and Training Division said: “The Army is restructuring to ensure Regular and Reserve soldiers are fully integrated into one force, training and working alongside each other. This campaign reflects that and will kick start our 2014 activity to recruit new full-time soldiers and increase the trained strength of part-time soldiers. We hope to do this by challenging public perceptions that the Army purely consists of frontline combat roles. We want to show potential recruits who are perhaps thinking about how they can improve their careers and lives that there is much more to the Army than meets the eye.”

The Army has a very large established presence in the South West made up of both Regular and Reserve units. The bulk are located around the Salisbury Plain Training Area in Wiltshire and the numbers will be increasing significantly under the plans outlined in Army 2020. Amongst the formations are 43 (Wessex) Brigade which delivers military capability in the event of Civil Emergencies such as flooding, recruiting for the Reserves, Military Civilian Integration activity and influences infrastructure support in order to meet the operational commitment of units in the South West. Under its command are Reserve units such as 6th Battalion The Rifles, an Infantry battalion, which is located in Exeter, Gloucester, Bristol, Taunton, Dorchester, Poole, Truro and Plymouth and The Royal Wessex Yeomanry, which operates the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, and is located in Bovington, Salisbury, Gloucester, Barnstaple and Paignton.

Trooper Marcus Cribb, 23, has been in the Army Reserves for four years and has already gained many opportunities that the Army has to offer. Marcus is in full-time higher education, studying project management, and works as a Challenger 2 driver in his spare time for the Army. He also featured in the new TV advert. Marcus said:

“Being in the Army has opened up so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have achieved elsewhere. I’ve gained new skills and had the opportunity to travel to Switzerland, all of which has been done in my spare-time. My university has been supportive of my role in the Army alongside my studies and I’m keen to bring all of the skills and qualifications that I’m gaining in the Army to my studies and future full-time career. Not many people realise that Reserves have all the same opportunities as Regular soldiers but we do. I would encourage anyone looking for an exciting challenge and new opportunity outside of their day job to join.”

Chris Tickell continued: “The Army is always looking for people with an adventurous and can-do attitude. Joining opens up a number of doors for new recruits, giving them access to excellent training and developing attributes such as communication, motivation, fitness and leadership. A part-time role can also offer people something entirely different to their nine-to-five job or complement what they already do by giving them additional or new qualifications and skills which will help develop their own careers.”

There are thousands of full-time and part-time jobs available in the Army, across hundreds of different roles. Some of the roles available now include: bricklayers, communications specialists, logistics specialists, air conditioning and refrigerator engineers, welders, veterinary technicians, musicians, technical storemen, environment health technicians, health care assistants and infantry soldiers.

For more information about the exciting full-time and part-time job opportunities with the Army, visit www.army.mod.uk/jobs, search ‘Army Jobs’ or call 0845 600 8080.