Deputy Commander of 51 Brigade and Army Headquarters Scotland, Col Sandy Fitzpatrick, Scottish Veterans Ministers, Graeme Dey, Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Charlie Wallace, and SCQF Chief Executive, Aileen Ponton.
Infantry soldiers across the UK and those who settle in Scotland will be able to more easily match their military training qualifications to employers' needs and study requirements in Scotland, thanks to a new resource launched today.
For the first time, British Army Infantry qualifications have been matched to their equivalent Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework level, used by learners, employers, colleges and universities. This Scottish initiative means that upon leaving the military, personnel will have the recognised skills for jobs with Scottish employers and access to courses with further education and training providers. It also ensures that personnel appreciate the value of skills when in the services, as they will now go on to be nationally recognised across Scotland.
Until now British Army infantry qualifications had been mapped to the Regulated Qualifications Framework - the framework that is used in England and Northern Ireland.
The initiative was launched today at an event at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, attended by Aileen Ponton, the Chief Executive of the SCQF Partnership, Colonel Sandy Fitzpatrick, Deputy Commander of 51 Brigade & Army Headquarters Scotland and the Scottish Veterans Minister, Graeme Day.
Deputy Commander of 51 Brigade and Army Headquarters Scotland, Colonel Sandy Fitzpatrick said:
The recognition of British Army Infantry qualifications by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is an important step in helping our infantry service leavers and veterans demonstrate just how valuable they are to prospective employers across Scotland.
We believe that the high quality of these qualifications along with the many other benefits that veterans offer employers, such as their ability to problem solve, work as a team and their self-discipline makes them twice the citizen and employee.
This recognition will greatly improve soldiers' transition from military to civilian life and better demonstrate the high-quality training and qualifications provided to the infantry of the British Army.
The MOD worked in partnership with the SCQF Partnership, with funding from the Scottish Funding Council following a recommendation of the Scottish Veterans' Commissioner's report on Employability and Education.
Chief Executive of the SCQF, Aileen Ponton said:
The SCQF Partnership is delighted to be working with Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council, the MOD and a wide range of partners to deliver greater recognition for the skills and qualifications held by services personnel.
We see this work as helping employers and educational institutions understand the range of skills and expertise that those leaving the forces have to offer, and in addition support individuals to articulate their skills clearly in order to find employment or education which will add value to them and improve Scotland's economic future.
The SCQF has been working with the Ministry of Defence to review a total of its 1,235 qualification matrices across all three of its armed services. It has been examining all qualifications as well as speaking to key awarding bodies to ensure as many of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force qualifications are either mapped or where possible, officially recognised on the SCQF.
