Hundreds of military personnel in North Wales were given access to information on education, employment, health and housing to help them settle back into civilian life at an inaugural event.
More than 60 exhibitors were at Glyndŵr University Sports Centre in Wrexham for ‘Living & Working in the West’, a transition fair organised by the Ministry of Defence.
Supported by the Welsh Government, the event was organised as one of a series of initiatives to help serving personnel to plan for the day when they leave the Armed Forces.
It is the first time such an event has been held in North Wales for current and ex-service personnel.
Organisations in attendance included MoD agenices, local authorities G4S, Glyndŵr University, Securitas, Tesco and Wagtail UK Ltd, a private company which provides specialist dog services and already employs a number of ex-military personnel.
The event was open to all service personnel in the North West, Wales, Shropshire and further afield.
Major John Symmons is currently responsible for helping Army personnel in Wales with transition to civilian life.
He said:
“We are trying to give as much advice as possible to prepare service people for life outside the Army. The five pillars of this are education, employment, health, housing and welfare.
“For a large proportion of people leaving the Army there are no issues whatsoever but we recognise that there are unfortunately a number who aren’t in the right place. We are working very hard, therefore, to help service leavers back into civilian life and the Transition Fair is just one part of this.
“We are immersing those currently serving with information to get them to think about life after the Army in order to prevent them encountering major problems further down the line.”
