Veterans launch firm to give ex-forces heroes cyber-security training
The Crucial Group offers free training, qualifications and jobs to ex-military members if they successfully complete their in-tech academy
LIFE on Civvy Street can be a challenge for the thousands of men and women who leave the British Armed Forces every year.
Many struggle to find jobs — and studies by the Royal British Legion suggest veterans are twice as likely to be unemployed as their equivalents in the general population.
But a new company is tackling the problem by offering free training, qualifications — and jobs.
It’s a personal mission for the team behind The Crucial Group because nearly all of them are ex-military themselves.
The chief exec is Neil Williams, who joined the Royal Marines in 2009 and served for eight years before leaving last year to spend more time with his growing family.
Neil, 34, said: “I was proud to serve my country and I wanted to give something back to the military for all the skills and experiences the Marines gave me. Now I can help other ex-servicemen.”
Crucial, based in Brighton, focuses on cyber security, a rapidly growing industry. The firm is backed by Naval charity The White Ensign Association.
Selected ex-servicemen and women will be trained at its new hi-tech academy where they will gain recognised qualifications.
Most importantly, they will be placed in a job at the end and will continue to receive support for two years from Crucial’s experts.
Neil, from Worthing, West Sussex, said: “There is a huge market in cyber security as every high-profile hacking shows. There’s a shortfall of 1.5million professionals worldwide predicted by 2020, so there are lots of opportunities.”
Crucial’s lead cyber security instructor, Ollie Spence, is another ex-Royal Marine. His ten years of service included two tours of Afghanistan.
Ollie, 30, from Brighton, said: “Like many veterans I started in security — physical security, that is, mostly conducting investigations and surveillance. Then I learned more about cyber security and decided that was the way to go.
“I had no technical experience and no university degree so I knew it would be a challenge. But one of the many things I learned in the military was determination and hard work pay off, so after countless hours of studying I qualified as a consultant.”
Head of business development Matt Roberts makes it a hat-trick of ex-Royal Marines. Matt, 30, also from Brighton, spent nine years in the military and saw active service in Afghanistan three times.
He said: “It’s an exciting time and great to know we can help ex-Forces begin new careers.”
Crucial training
PEOPLE applying for the free courses go through a selection process to ensure they are right for the role.
Crucial says the three-week “camps” are tough but give the successful candidates industry-recognised qualifications.
There are three courses – offensive cyber security, defensive cyber security and information assurance.
The first is protecting computer systems, networks and individuals from cyber attacks. Defensive security focuses on finding and fixing system vulnerabilities.
Information assurance is ensuring policies and systems are in place to protect data.
Find out more at . Alternatively, call 01273 060201 or email academy @crucialgroup.co.uk.
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BT OPENREACH is taking on a record 3,500 trainee engineers across the UK this year.
The telecoms company aims to have close to 24,000 field engineers by the end of March next year.
Most of the roles are in front- line engineering.
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A further 653 roles are to help build the ultra-fast fibre broadband network, with a view to reaching ten million homes and businesses by the mid-2020s.
Arrondeep Chahal joined Openreach as a trainee engineer in October last year.
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Find out more online at .
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