John Deere has seen an influx of applications to its Military Hiring Programme after hosting a bespoke dealers event for service leavers.
Held at the company’s headquarters in Langar, Nottinghamshire, the event let armed forces personnel discuss the next stage of their career.
The resettlement programme for military service personnel offers career opportunities working on advanced agricultural and professional groundscare products.
See also: New wheel hire solution from Brocks
Members of the armed forces have been identified as ideal candidates for technician roles in UK and Ireland dealerships.
Many have already worked with systems and products similar to those used by John Deere.
“What was really successful about the day was the amount of conversation between military personnel and dealers,” says Allan Cochran, Branch Training Manager for John Deere.
“Everybody wanted to talk, everybody wanted to engage with the event, and I think everyone that was there, both military and dealers, got something out of it.”
Those on the programme are put in contact with an individual from the John Deere network who have resettled themselves.
They act as a guide to help them through their next steps, including giving free training courses before helping them find employment with John Deere dealers.
The event drew a positive number of applications to the Military Hiring Programme, with 23 ex-servicemen now waiting for the next step to start their new career with John Deere.
The Military Hiring Programme has drawn interest from across the country, with attendees travelling from as far as Cornwall and Scotland.
“To have people coming from all the country is really great to see,” says Allan.
“We have dealers in all corners of the nation, and with the largest proportion of people wanting to resettle wherever they are based now, we can make that happen.”
Attendees also had the opportunity to listen to those who had been through the Military Hiring Programme and were now a part of the dealership network.
Ex-servicemen Martin Frodsham, Will Foster and Mike Rogers spoke about their journey and what their career have looked like since becoming technicians.
John Deere instructors also showed off machines they would be working on.
More information on the scheme can be found here.
