Case Study
A.W. Jenkinson
Enabling the successful transition from military to civilian life is the driving force behind our mission at the CTP; a view that is shared by the A.W. Jenkinson Group, who over the last year has been working hard to bring more and more Service leavers into their organisation.
We were delighted to speak with John Forbes, Driver Trainer, and Sara Valentin, Media Manager, about their experience of working with Service leavers, and what they think makes them ideal candidates.
Can you tell us about the recruitment drives you run for Armed Forces leavers?
We do our best to utilise the CTP’s online job portal, RightJob, and advertise all of our relevant vacancies on the site. Once a role generates a bit of interest, we’re very much focused on working directly with each Service leaver on a 1:1 basis to understand what it is they’re looking for, and explain what we can offer in return. Should they be successful in their application, our induction process is again tailored to them as an individual, dependent on their level of experience and expertise, so they can acquire the specific skills and knowledge needed for the role
With the success we’ve had from using RightJob, we now always encourage Service leavers we meet at CTP Employment Events to use the portal. General recruitment sites will mean they often miss out on opportunities, and none of us want that!
How have Service leavers contributed towards the success of your workforce?
An ongoing challenge for us has always been finding people who know what the role entails – including the challenges of life on the road. We’ve since found that Service leavers often adjust to the role well, and once they’ve experienced the job for a short time, they realise two things: the culture of the organisation is a great fit for them, and the role matches their skillset really well – making for a happier workforce where each individual enjoys a fulfilling career with us.
And secondly, with the driver shortage now impacting our business and many others like us, being able to recruit from the Armed Forces is a perfect solution; allowing us to tap directly into a talent pool where the skills and qualities needed for our roles are readily available, and new recruits can hit the ground running.
What qualities have Service leavers brought to A.W. Jenkinson?
We’ve found that the way we operate aligns with how individuals from a military background are used to working. There is a heavy focus on structure and completing work within regimented hours, and we can always rely on Service leavers to be punctual, reliable and to manage their time well – qualities that we believe are absolutely invaluable to succeeding in role with us.
What types of roles do you recruit military personnel into?
In our first 12 months of working with you, our focus has mostly been on recruiting drivers, which we’ve found resonates really well with Service leavers – they’re suited to the work and they enjoy it. As we move forward, we’re looking to explore a wider range of roles and other business areas that we believe ex-military personnel will be a great fit for; including mechanics, fitters, forwarder drivers, driver trainers and admin personnel.
Can you confirm how many of your employees have come from CTP since you started working with us, and the types of roles they are in?
To date, we’ve recruited 7 drivers into permanent positions across three of our depots. These are extremely varied positions with a number of different tasks assigned on any given day – and it’s this variation and challenge on a daily basis that our new recruits seem to really enjoy.
And finally, what tangible business benefits have you seen since employing Service leavers?
Following an expansion within the business, we had a large number of roles that needed filling in Bo’ness near Edinburgh – and recruiting from the Service leaver talent pool has helped us do just that.
Plus, driver vacancies are ongoing and there will always be opportunities for Service leavers to join our organisation in this capacity.
Having this ready-made stream of talent available to us through the CTP means we’re able to fill vacancies much quicker and meet the demand of our customers at all times.
And as part of A.W. Jenkinson Group, we’re not only finding solutions to our own recruitment challenges with military leavers, but for those of the other businesses across the Group as well.
