Former soldiers to be redeployed as cyber warriors

‘Veterans have unique skills and experiences, gained from their time in the Armed Forces’

MILITARY veterans are to be retrained as cyber security experts under a joint endeavour between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and a start-up technology company.

Many veterans struggle to find work after the end of their service careers. TechVets, which specialises in helping veterans get jobs in the cyber security and technology sector, will work with the MoD’s Career Transition Partnership, the flagship training programme for service leavers, under a new agreement signed this month.

They believe that the skills and experience built up during a military career make veterans ideally placed to retrain as cyber security professionals.

Tobias Ellwood, the minister for defence personnel and veterans, welcomed the agreement after Mark Milton, the not-for-profit group’s cofounder, signed the Armed Forces Cov- enant at the MoD’s headquarters in

London.

“Veterans have unique skills and experiences, gained from their time in the Armed Forces, which means they contribute a lot to society,” said Mr Ellwood.

TechVets’ first initiative, the Digital Cyber Academy, will provide free cyber security training to veterans, harnessing the leadership, crisis management and problem solving skills they have developed in their earlier careers.