Returning troops will build a better UK

THOUSANDS of returning military heroes will be retrained as builders to help construct a more prosperous Britain.

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British soldiers will help build Britain as its housing market booms

With house building now at its highest level since 2007 and climbing, thousands of skilled jobs are up for grabs, especially for those willing to swap combat for construction.

More than 100,000 jobs have been created in the UK by the increase in house building over the past two years, with an extra 44,000 more new homes started in 2014 compared with the figure for 2012. Tens of thousands more people will need to be recruited and trained over the coming years as the industry gears up to meet the country’s housing requirements and deliver on the ambitions of political leaders.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have pledged to build an extra 200,000 homes over the course of the next Parliament.

Now men and women in uniform looking ahead to a life outside the Armed Forces are being urged to beat their way to the front of the queue in order to take advantage of those opportunities.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis told the Sunday Express yesterday: “With house building now at its highest annual level since 2007 thousands of construction jobs are up for grabs.

“Former Servicemen and women have the right stuff to build a second successful career in construction.

“Team work, leadership and logistics are all skills that the house building industry needs right now. So when our brave Servicemen and women return to Civvy Street it’s great to see developers ensuring they can get to the front of the queue and join the ranks of people starting rewarding careers by building Britain’s new homes.”

Persimmon Homes is just one firm that has its own dedicated ex-military personnel recruitment programme, which is aiming to sign up hundreds of new trainees every year from the Armed Forces.

The initiative, which was launched in December, aims to recruit as many as 500 ex-Service personnel each year. The company will even open a new training centre later this month close to a barracks in Woolwich, in south-east London.

Group chief executive officer Jeff Fairburn explained: “We worked hard over the course of 2014 to develop this programme to help us meet a shortage of much-needed skilled tradesmen across the UK.

“We are already on course to bring 500 new people into the business in 2015 and if our growth continues we will repeat this in 2016.”

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