After 400 failed applications, the ex soldier who is fighting for a job
Campaign veteran ‘led hundreds in the Army’
LEADER Wayne Taylor in his Army days
A FORMER sergeant major stood outside a business park holding a “Job Wanted” placard after 400 failed applications.
Wayne Taylor, 46, is a veteran of both Gulf wars and served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.
He was earning £45,000-a-year when he left the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery in December 2011. But now all he can find are minimum-wage jobs.
Wayne stood by the Chester Business Park in Cheshire with a sign reading: “Job Wanted. Educated to degree level. Speak to me please.”
His wife Laura, 48, who works parttime in admin, said: “When employers see his CV with ‘military’ on it, all they think is ‘thick squaddie’. But my husband led hundreds of men.”
Wayne, from Wrexham, North Wales, joined the Army when he was 16 and served for 25 years. He has worked as a carer and a prison custody officer but has not settled.
He said: “Things have been difficult so it was time to be proactive and try something different.
“I’ve had no response from so many applications. It might just work.” The ex-senior NCO feels he would be ideally suited to a role in logistics and management.
Since leaving the military, he has gained a Level 6 qualification in leadership and management.
Wayne added: “If you are ex-Army, they look and think we were only there to kill people. It’s not easy.”
Representatives from a couple of firms at the business park came over to take Wayne’s details on Friday.
But Laura said: “He was offered £8 an hour to deliver mattresses. No disrespect to people who do that, but he is capable of so much more.”
Wayne has been treated for posttraumatic stress disorder and has seen some of his former comrades take their own lives since leaving the Army.
If you can offer him work, email him at: wayne.taylor2010@hotmail.co.uk.
If you are ex-Army, they think you were only there to kill WAYNE TAYLOR JOBLESS FORMER SOLDIER