The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will create a bespoke mentoring scheme to help veterans to reach the senior civil service as part of plans to increase ex-military representation across the department.
The mentoring scheme is one element of a larger plan which is being developed to encourage career progression among veterans, the FDCO said.
The department will also look to increase its numbers of civil servants with a military background by amping up promotion of its guaranteed interview scheme for veterans and ensuring FCDO representation at careers fairs for armed-forces veterans. The FCDO said this recruitment drive will help to “encourage applications from veterans and improve their chances of successful appointment”.
The civil service’s guaranteed interview policy for ex-military job applicants, known as the "Great Place to Work for Veterans" scheme, was launched in the civil service in 2020 to help former members of the armed services find jobs after their military careers.
The civil service also has a Going Forward into Employment programme, which offers support to veterans and their partners – and others who “face barriers to employment” such as ex-offenders and care leavers – matching them into suitable roles.
The department said it will publish data next year on the number of veterans recruited “to demonstrate progress made against the department’s ambition” to increase its ranks of ex-military employees.
Veterans can apply for FCDO roles in both the home civil service and the diplomatic service.