Soldier On! updates

Soldiers based at the British Gurkha Camp at Pokhara in Nepal have been helping the local community cope with recent flash floods. A flash flood on the Seti River at the beginning of May caused damage to the local water supply infrastructure including a mains water pipe. This has resulted in a major water shortage problem for the local community.

The British Gurkha Camp in Pokhara though has its own water supply, so was therefore unaffected by the flood. The soldiers therefore offered to supply water to the local people outside the camp through filling municipal sponsored tankers as well as allowing people to collect water form the taps at the front and rear of the British camp.

Up to 350,000 litres of drinking water per day have been offered up free of charge by the Gurkhas, with the local authorities responsible for collection and distribution.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the soldier from 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh who has been killed in Afghanistan.

Captain Stephen Healey commanded the Combined Force Burma reconnaissance platoon and whilst conducting a vehicle patrol his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was given immediate first aid before being flown to the military hospital at Camp Bastion where, sadly, his death was confirmed.

Captain Healey was born on 19 September 1982 in Cardiff. On leaving school he became a semi-professional footballer; playing for a number of clubs in the South Wales area including an apprenticeship with Swansea City. He continued to play whilst completing a degree in Sports Science at Swansea University. He joined the Army in 2007 and was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) in 2008.

In 2009 he was awarded a Mention in Dispatches. In 2011 he was selected to command a reconnaissance platoon and deployed to Afghanistan on 9 March 2012, where he took over responsibility at Checkpoint Langar as part of Combined Force Burma.

Captain Stephen Healey leaves behind his father John, mother Kerry, brother Simon and girlfriend Thea.

This update could really be summed up by three words; Wow and thank you!

Richmond Events organise strategic business forums, matching buyers with sellers. They are the pioneers of the one-to-one, pre scheduled strategic business forums and have organised over 350 forums since the company was founded in 1989. The CIPD certified HR forum takes place on board a ship, taking delegates and suppliers from Southampton to anchor just outside St Peter Port in Guernsey. There is nowhere to escape to, even at 4 am as we found out!

Between Wednesday evening and finishing work on Friday night Soldier On! had meetings with over 50 senior HR executives…. The strange thing was, despite having our first meeting at 0745 hrs and finishing the last conversation at 0400 hrs you never feel overly tired as time really does fly by, or perhaps sail by. Invited by Richmond Events we had an opportunity to present to a captive audience of senior heads of Human Resources who showed great interest in supporting Soldier On! The important things that stand out for us is the need for a more strategic demonstration to industry about the potential of soldiers, sailors and aviators, and how intensely serious business is to assist those who have been made redundant on medical grounds to regain their sense of dignity through employment. We are as grateful to the wonderful people we met as we are to Richmond Events who invited us to join them. Their staff worked around the clock to make sure that an event of such importance ran to perfection.

We are now following up from these initial meetings and hope to update you with coverage of new relationships that have been built with partners to this fantastic community effort to help our wounded service personnel. Thank you Richmond and thank you to all of you who gave us so much of your time over the past few days!

We would like to thank the members of staff at Merrill Lynch, in London, who chose Soldier On! as their charity of choice for their recent dress down Friday. They raised £190, which through the generous corporate matching scheme brings the total to £390. We are extremely grateful to them.

The direct costs needed to support ONE medically discharged service person are roughly £450. We are aiming to support 60 per year through our intensive career management offering. We are always desperately grateful to our kind donors and would like to hear from anyone who could support this much needed service – Could you and your company support us in this or any other way? Thank you.

We are pleased to announce that Adrian Thomas, Head of Resourcing, Network Rail and a corporate Ambassador of Soldier On! received the honour of the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony in the Chamberlains Court at the Guildhall in London on the 17th April 2012. Adrian has worked in Human Resources and Recruitment for over 25 years having started in the Industry with Longacre Personnel Consultants, subsequently working for The Wellcome Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome, GSK, RBS before joining Network Rail in 2008. Adrian is also Non-Executive Chair of the Recruitment Society, Director of the Association of Graduate Recruiters and is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of World Traders.

We would like to pass on our most sincere congratulations to one of our most active supporters.

We would all like to congratulate Chris Roebuck, Visiting Professor of Transformational Leadership at Cass Business School, who has been invited to become a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. The honour of becoming a Companion is recognition of a distinguished career to date. Those invited to do so have already made their mark during the course of their careers, are senior leaders in successful organisations and have an interest in the development of world class management and leadership practice.

This invitation reinforces his reputation as a senior leader nationally and internationally and is in recognition of his work over many years in leading the improvement of leadership and management practice in organisations globally. He is one of a very select number from an HR background spanning public, private and third sector organizations, who have been honoured in this way.

The CMI is the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to promoting the highest standards in management and leadership excellence. Its has more than 90,000 members

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the two servicemen who have been killed in Afghanistan. The servicemen, from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and the Royal Air Force were serving as part of an advisory team when they were shot dead by members of the Afghan Police Force.

We are most grateful to The Recruitment Society for their kind invitation for us to speak at their Midlands event. The subject to be discussed is: Apprenticeships Are they the best way to find new staff in 2012?

Research shows that Apprenticeships are an optimal way of training, developing and skilling people for the future, helping businesses to secure a supply of people with the skills and qualities they need and which are often not available on the external job market.

With over 2.5 million unemployed and yet most sectors still having a shortage of skilled workers, the fact that Apprenticeships can go a long way to resolve this issue makes this a must have’ option for every company looking to recruit.

Our speakers will present on the subject from three different perspectives – the government and its initiatives, a mature apprentice and his experiences in his first year of working within the recruitment industry and a charity organisation and how they are utilising apprenticeships.

The Organisation:

A well-established family run distributor trading for approaching 30 years with a broad customer base and a very busy trade counter. Proud of their fabulous service levels and expert knowledge they offer a quality range of products at a sensible price. Honest and professional they dont intend to be the cheapest supplier around but do expect their customers to feel like they are getting exceptional value for money. After a change of management late last year they are now geared up for strong growth and you will be joining them at an exciting time with great prospects.

The role:

This exciting new role involves selling the companys range of commercial cleaning and hygiene products, paper consumables and industrial cleaning machines to local contact cleaners, education facilities, catering and more. Its a field sales role responsible for managing existing customers and developing new business opportunities. Selling bog rolls and bleach may not be glamorous but it is immensely satisfying and theres a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Ideal Candidate:

The Person

· Ethical, professional and highly self-motivated

· A clear, confident communicator

· Well presented

· Fun, charismatic and a pleasure to be around

· Ready to make a positive impact on the business and grow with the client!

To apply for this role you must have a full UK driving license preferably without points and live locally.

What is on Offer to our candidates?

The salary will depend entirely on experience. Between £16.5k to £25k. The Hours are 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday with an hour for lunch.

To find out more or to register as a potential candidate please email Soldier On!

Nick Davis Candidate Manager nickdavis

Please quote for reference: Camberley, Sales Executive role

If you have any other queries please contact:

Nicholas Harrison Managing Director nicholas

We are delighted to announce that the InterContinental London Westminster Hotel, opening November 2012, will be partnering with Soldier On! to try and find employment for our candidates. As with all our partnerships we will never expect companies to compromise on their rigorous selection procedures and will present the hotel with suitable potential employees to be looked at as part of their wider recruitment activities. We do believe that former service personnel have absolutely the right characteristics and operational experience that is so needed to run a successful hotel and are thrilled to be working with InterContinental Westminster as they recruit for what looks to be a fantastic hotel.

Andrew Coney, General Manager InterContinental London Westminster said:

“We are proud to be partnering with Soldier On! to find experienced war veterans to join the InterContinental London Westminster team as we prepare for our opening in November 2012. Their focus and drive will be a huge asset to our team and we look forward to benefitting from the skills theyve acquired through years of service as part of their new roles within the hotel.”