CareerForces' March in March will raise money for veterans' charities Combat Stress and the On Course Foundation
A former Park House School pupil who spent more than 30 years in the British Army is using his experience to help veterans into the world of work.
And this month he is marching in March to raise vital funds for charity.
Andy Howe grew up in Newbury before leaving to join the Royal Engineers.
After 32 years in the military he left in 2008 and started working as a civil servant with the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Then just two years ago he started a social enterprise with the aim of helping veterans and key workers find new careers. And at the same time he is supporting veterans’ charities.
CareerForces is his award-winning social enterprise and this month he is taking part in the March in March to raise money for Combat Stress, a charity that provides “life-changing mental health treatment for UK veterans”.
“Right now this support is even more critical,” Mr Howe said.
And for every pound donated to his Combat Stress fundraiser, CareerForces will also donate an equivalent amount to support the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
Mr Howe is walking around five miles every morning – and is encouraging anyone who wants to 'walk and talk' to go and join him from 6.30am-8am.
As well as raising money for charities CareerForces hopes to help more and more people into a career in which they can thrive.
“I work with companies and fill roles for them; typically they are veterans I place, but also key workers,” Mr Howe explained. “People in the forces, the police, the NHS as well are all under immense pressure now and taking the difficult decision to move out of their chosen profession.
“We are in an environment at the moment where people are spoilt for choice and there are a lot of career opportunities, but it is a difficult position to be in too.
“I offer a very bespoke, one-to-one services and I give them advice on the direction of travel for their career.
“I am not putting them into temporary jobs; I am looking at careers.”
And when Mr Howe makes a profit he hands some of it over to two charities that help injured veterans.
Combat Stress is one of the charities that will benefit from the work of CareerForces. The On Course Foundation is the other charity Mr Howe has chosen to support and he says one day he hopes to be in a position to be able to give more than 50 per cent of his profits to the charities.
Mr Howe, who lives in Newbury with his wife and still works for the MOD, said the signs were so far encouraging and he had only received positive feedback.
“I placed a veteran in a Surrey business early on and the difference it made to his confidence was amazing,” he added. “If anything was the writing on the wall that what we were doing was great, that was it.
“Then my daughter said to me that every time you put someone in a job that’s a good thing for them and you then put a penny in a charity pot too and that’s a good thing as well. It just feels like a vocation.”
Mr Howe said he has found that many companies are keen to begin working with a social enterprise, because they know they are all doing something good.
CareerForces was recently awarded the Armed Forces Covenent’s employer recognition scheme Silver Award - an achievement that Mr Howe was particularly proud of. It is a way of showing a business's support for the armed forces.
Father of two, Mr Howe is also currently organising, in conjunction with the On Course Foundation, a golf day for veterans in June, which will be supported by CareerForces.
To find out more visit www.careerforces.co.uk and to donate to Mr Howe’s March in March fundraiser visit https://events.combatstress.org.uk/fundraisers/andyhowe/marchinmarch
