Building bridges between serving in the armed services and serving in ‘civvy street’. Pictures courtesy of Crown Copyright 2018
IPP Logipal, part of the Pooling Partners Group, which produces and circulates more than 20 million pallets a year in diverse sectors including the food and drink market, is the latest signatory to an innovative website that introduces former service personnel to ‘civvy street.’
Military Resettlement Headquarters (MRHQ), an online jobs board for ex-military personnel, was launched less than a year ago by Captain Peter Wilson, a former Signals officer, who struggled to find work after he left the Army.
As well as a digital noticeboard, www.mrhq.co.uk provides an individual evaluation guide to find the best jobs suited to people leaving the forces and a personal tracker to keep candidates focussed on next steps in their quests for new careers out of uniform.
MRHQ, which is based in Clapham, is advertising more than 2,000 jobs with sponsored support from 300+ companies, including its latest recruit IPP Logipal, the Coventry-based business which has increased its volumes by more than 1.6 million extra pallets this year.
IPP Logipal teamed up with MRHQ as part of a desire to look beyond conventional agency recruitment to fill positions across the business.
“Our growth continues and we need to recruit more staff for our 13 depots across the UK and Ireland, as well as operational and possibly commercial roles within our business,” said IPP’s operations director David Bage.
“We were approached by MRHQ and we signed up to support the initiative straight away, because of its expertise in finding former service personnel who have a knowledge of engineering and logistics, as you would expect from the armed forces. It is a very cost-effective solution and reduces our dependence on recruitment consultants.
“We work in an industry where there are a number of skills shortages, from drivers to warehouse staff. We are constantly looking for new staff and MRHQ is looking to find homes for personnel with complementary skills – it’s a win-win situation.”
IPP Logipal already has a relationship with former military personnel through Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI), a social enterprise based in Aylesford, Kent, where former service personnel repair pallets to be reused by customers across the UK.
The relationship is based on pragmatic economics, as the logistics sector has long suffered from skills shortages, including drivers. According to the Road Haulage Association, there are up to 50,000 vacancies, an issue that is pushing up costs in what is already a margin-sensitive sector.
There are also fears the issue is likely to get worse, partly because of the likely impact of Brexit and the fact the average age of drivers is currently 54, a figure driven by CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) regulations demanding costly re-testing every five years.
Jack Cresswell, marketing manager for MRHQ, said: “Our CEO set the business up because he had trouble with his own resettlement after he left the services. Our ability to match our resources with the demands in the logistics sector has been great to see – from drivers to engineers and project managers.
“Companies such as IPP Logipal are helping our own growth ambitions, as we see ourselves doubling in size in the next 12 months. We are getting enquiries from businesses almost every day.”
