Creating brilliant soldiers and successful citizens

The commitment and talent of our Forces is exceptional and that uniqueness should be reflected in the support they receive.

Servicemen and women’s struggles and courage do not end when they leave the battlefield. Today Labour is announcing our twin-track approach to strengthen our duty of care to those who serve: enhancing post-service support and introducing more rigorous in-service training. This would ensure personnel who leave have the skills and structures to help them advance in new careers, as well as strengthening military operations by increasing the skill levels of our personnel.

Labour has already argued that veterans should have ‘day one’ access to the Work Programme and there should be new legal rights for the service community to protect them against discrimination. But we can go further. Brilliant but fragmented third sector support can be badly sign-posted and we want to see a permanent umbrella body providing a one-stop-shop for leavers to access support. We also want resettlement support to be linked to need as well as length of service, extending it to a larger number of early leavers who currently get limited attention.

Military experience can be a real asset to business, providing organisational, team-building and leadership skills, yet just 1% of service personnel say employers are well informed about life in the Forces. The Government should take a lead in educating employers in the skills accrued through service.

It is fantastic that Community trade union is today announcing their intention to position themselves as the UK’s Veterans Union. Serving members of the Forces rightly can’t join a union, but those who leave often need support and Community will be able to help find them gainful employment. The trade union movement remains the vehicle by which working people’s rights to fair treatment and workplace opportunities are fought for and Community will make a significant contribution to protecting those who have defended our country.

Vitally, we must also enhance in-service education, including greater requirements on services to provide basic qualifications. At present the only academic training the services are mandated to deliver is Level 1 in literacy and numeracy – equivalent to achieving GCSE grades D to G – within 3 years, and Level 2 – equivalent to achieving GCSE grades A* to C – within 8 years. Those without are a minority – but there are too many, particularly in the Army. In the Army in 2012 there were 1,464 with Level 1 numeracy and 4,089 with level 1 literacy at their initial assessments. Can we really defend a system where many of those who defend our country are left without additional basic skills? This is bad for recruits, the Army and our country.

It is right to aim for faster progress, in particular for those 16-18. We want more to be able to gain A*-C grade GCSE equivalent qualifications within two rather than eight years. By being more ambitious for the skills of personnel, the Army can be more effective at its vital job of protecting the nation. Some of those who join at 16 will have done so because they have fallen out of the state education system. The answer is not to stop them joining the Army, but to make education a different experience, delivered from within the military with a military ethos. As we raise the mandatory education participation age to 18 we cannot allow those who choose to join the military early to be left behind.

This goes to the heart of the nature of the Services – and in particular Army – we want to develop. If our Forces are going to be leaner, they must be smarter, performing new and more complex tasks, demanding higher skill levels. There will be a new focus on intelligence, operating high end equipment, cultural awareness and linguistics. Education should be seen as a key capability, with a new culture of constant development which spreads across all ranks.

High-skilled British Armed Forces would have not just greater ability to perform to their maximum ability on operations and a higher chance of promotion and progression within their chosen Service, but they would also be better equipped to ensure re-entry to civilian life is an experience defined by opportunity rather than compromise.

Our purpose in the world is to defend our interests and promote our ideas, but the threats we face are growing in intensity, diversity and complexity. The choice at the next election will be between which party can deliver advanced, affordable and adaptable armed forces. Today Labour is setting out how this would be achieved. A first step is ensuring our military create not just brilliant soldiers, but also successful citizens.

Jim Murphy is the Shadow Defence Secretary