Pembrokeshire’s Guaranteed Interview Scheme helps appoint mentor for service children

The latest person to be appointed through the scheme will directly support military school pupils thanks to a grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Trust.

Haverfordwest High VC School has appointed a Service Children’s Mentor for the secondary school and its primary school cluster.

Five of the 23 applicants for the new job were guaranteed an interview because of their status as veterans or military spouses and partners.

Miranda Corcoran, the successful applicant currently based in Cyprus, said: “This is the first time in 20 years that I have been able to secure employment prior to arriving in a new location. The GIS is an ‘armed forces friendly’ policy that significantly eases the transition into employment for military spouses when moving with their families to a new location.’’

Reg White from Haverfordwest High VC School said: ‘’We have the largest cohort of service children in Wales within our school and our cluster. The appointment of a Service Children’s Mentor will make a significant impact upon the wellbeing of the children, particularly those who are in schools with very low numbers of service children.

“We are very grateful to the Armed Forces Covenant Trust for providing the funding and to Pembrokeshire County Council for actively supporting the employment of service personnel and their spouses within the County.’’

Since the Guaranteed Interview Scheme was introduced at Pembrokeshire County Council, 199 UK Armed Forces veterans and their spouses or partners have been interviewed for various roles, with 38 successfully appointed – an appointment rate of approximately 20%.

Councillor Simon Hancock, the Armed Forces Champion for Pembrokeshire County Council added: “Pembrokeshire is proud to support our armed forces community, and this appointment is a shining example of how our policies like the Guaranteed Interview Scheme are making a real difference.”