Armed Forces Talent Programme - Northern Outreach Events
NES’s Armed Forces Talent Programme (AFTP) is an NHSScotland-wide recruitment initiative for the armed forces community. It supports service leavers, veterans, spouses, partners, dependants, reservists, cadets, and cadet forces adult volunteers to enter our workforce.
In March, the AFTP journeyed up to the north of Scotland to participate in two local events hosted by armed forces welfare services of The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion (3SCOTS), The Royal Regiment of Scotland, Inverness, and RAF Lossiemouth.
Essential Support
Armed forces welfare services provide vital social activities, support networks, and important information and guidance ranging from spiritual care to housing and fitness.
The resources that welfare services can provide to families whilst serving personnel are deployed, on return from active duty, or when the entire family is on the move, can be a lifeline for many spouses and dependents who are based on Royal Air Force, British Army, and Royal Navy bases both in the UK and overseas.
First stop - RAF Lossiemouth
On the 4 March, the AFTP team met with Flight Sergeant Al Campbell - Service Community Support Officer, who welcomed the team into the St Aidan's Centre for the annual Shrove Tuesday drop-in session – where everyone could enjoy pancakes prepared with care (and expert flipping!) by RAF personnel.
Families joined a host of vendors (including NHS Scotland, Dandelion Project Moray, the Military Wives Choir, Pinnacle, Amey Housing, and others) to speak about services and guidance being offered.
The AFTP team, supported by Louise Pearson - Acting Hospital General Manager at Dr. Gray’s Hospital, NHS Grampian, discussed the range of pathways into NHSScotland with armed forces community members based at Lossiemouth.
NHS Grampian and the AFTP team attending the event contributed to engaging and inspiring conversations with spouses about the flexibility and security available within roles spanning from in-person to remote working opportunities across NHSScotland.
Next stop – Inverness
On the 5 March the team made their way to the welfare services office on Wimberley Way – there they met Captain Ian Carlisle, Unit Welfare Officer, and Colour Sergeant John Fay - Assistant Unit Welfare Officer, to attend their weekly coffee morning, where they were also joined by a number of local spouses who came along to find out a bit more about NHS Scotland (and have a bite to eat!).
The AFTP team were excited to be joined by Megan Glass - Employability Lead, NHS Highland, who provided expert insight into the roles and pathways into NHS Scotland, as well as highlighting valuable considerations for armed forces community members when looking at possible career routes, from application stage to appointment.
The event provided an excellent example of the collaborative spirit of working in the NHS in Scotland and acted as a drop-in surgery for questions from attendees who were curious about how to navigate their way into the organisation, or what potential roles might be on their path ahead, by having direct contact with people working in their local and national NHSScotland health boards.
For further information about the Armed Forces Talent Programme and its initiatives, please contact the team at nes.armedforces@nhs.scot
March, 20 2025