Veterans Initiative

CLA members have experienced difficulties in securing sufficient labour for their businesses. Not having enough workers, or those workers requiring further skills can be a major constraint for a rural business and affects the capacity and productivity of that business.

The CLA has been examining the current labour market and assessing the availability of alternative labour pools. One such area is military personnel leaving the armed forces. Those leaving the UK armed forces may be doing so due to medical discharge or at the end of a commission. But they often leave with skills and experience that would be extremely beneficial to rural land managers and businesses.

The CLA has established a relationship with the Ministry of Defence and veterans support groups to provide veterans the opportunity to work in rural areas and has set up the Armed Forces Covenant.

The covenant states that members of the armed forces will be treated fairly, whether they are current personnel or have left. It also sets out that the businesses that sign the covenant will make written and publicised pledges, for example, employing those leaving the military.

Through this covenant, the CLA will raise members' awareness of veterans' positive contributions and the benefits they can offer rural businesses.

The CLA will deliver three pledges:

• Encourage CLA members, as employers, to consider employing veterans of the Armed Forces.
• Disseminate information to CLA members to improve knowledge and foster a more inclusive relationship with the military community.
• Link up with existing national and regional networks that currently support veterans to improve veterans' mental and physical wellbeing after they leave the armed forces.

Through this initiative, we will:

• Raise awareness of the employment opportunities on offer,
• Highlighting the skills rural businesses need,
• Raise awareness among employers of other career opportunities, such as apprenticeships, long-term career opportunities, career advancement, training and benefits.

By working with CLA member businesses and the armed forces, we will be able to provide the information our members need to employ veterans and establish a vital link with support groups that play an important role in assisting those leaving the military.