OUR Armed Forces are known around the world for stepping forward to meet every challenge.

Now The Sun calls on our brave men and women to help beat the supply chain crisis, too.

The nation is facing a huge shortfall of 100,000 HGV drivers, which is causing shortages on supermarket shelves, at petrol pumps and with goods and services across the country.

Yet every year around 20,000 highly skilled British people leave the Armed Forces ready to serve in Civvy Street.

Today, new moves unveiled by the Government will make it quicker and simpler for former Forces personnel to qualify as lorry drivers and help plug this skills gap.

The measures, announced by the Ministry of Defence, remove red tape that has prevented thousands of them starting vital driving jobs.

Among the changes are fresh rules allowing service-leavers and veterans to access finance to fund driver training, plus additional help for military HGV licence- holders to upskill as commercial lorry drivers.

There will also be an extra 240 HGV training places available immediately through the Forces Career Transition Partnership. And that is just the start.

The Sun wants UK haulage firms to step up and offer guaranteed interviews and fast-tracked jobs to ex-servicemen and women, easing the shortfall of drivers.

Over the coming weeks, we will be highlighting firms doing their bit to back our veterans.

The Career Transition Partnership, which helps troops make the switch to their civilian life, will increase places for HGV training from 100 a year to nearly 350 places over the next 12 months.

Veterans minister Leo Docherty said: “This fantastic initiative will provide service-leavers and veterans with valuable skills and opportunities to help them find employment as they leave the military.

“This crucial support to those who have served in our nation’s military is our priority. I am delighted with the opportunity this expansion provides.”

The nation’s service-leavers have the potential to be the driving force behind Britain’s HGV sector — so let’s Keep On Trucking together.

Get ahead

• Speak to the Career Transition Partnership at ctp.org.uk
• Train with non-profit organisation veteransintologistics.org.uk
• Find hundreds of HGV roles at jobs.thesun.co.uk

'More chances for veterans to put qualities to use for country'

AT this time of year we honour the heroes who fought for our freedom.

Brave Armed Forces personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation and way of life.

But tomorrow, on Remembrance Sunday, we also pay tribute to our veterans who, after the guns fall silent, come home having to build a different future.

Whenever I speak to veterans I am struck by how brightly their spirit of public service burns, even though their military service has ended.

While some struggle to adjust to civilian life, a job gives them, and their families, the focus they are looking for and the future they deserve.

And I know that Sun readers — who always support our fantastic troops — will welcome news today that more veterans will be able to train as HGV drivers on a Government-backed scheme.

That means more chances for veterans to put their great qualities, such as leadership, reliability and teamwork, to use for themselves — and their country.

It is no secret that in Britain and across Europe, older HGV drivers are retiring and fewer younger ones are joining the sector.

The Government has introduced measures to tackle the issue by easing the paperwork needed to get HGV licences and is putting more money into training drivers.

In the Budget we announced £32.5million of new funding to improve lorry park facilities.

Today we are going further, and I want to see far more ex-military personnel take HGV jobs, including by taking advantage of the beefed-up MoD HGV training scheme.

Lest we forget: Veterans have so much to offer, with skills equally prized at work as in military life.

By welcoming them to the workforce, we can honour their courage all year round.

"Our brilliant ex-military should be first place to look"

THE brilliant men and women who serve in Britain’s Armed Forces bring a unique set of skills and a “can do” attitude to work, which we simply cannot do without.

They are clear thinking, reliable and also perform well under pressure.

They have been trained in teamwork and hard work — and bring with them a sense of humour that marks them out as comrades as well as colleagues.

Beyond responding to the national emergencies, our business of facilities management — and many other industries — prize the technical, logistical and leadership skills and ethos developed in the Armed Forces.

I am proud to have spent 18 years serving in our Armed Forces.

Working alongside Mitie’s huge array of skilled colleagues, my military comrades add a special something to the service we provide.

The same would be true for any sector in the UK economy.

Part of Mitie’s work during the pandemic has been setting up hundreds of Covid testing centres across the UK.

It was as a result of the clear thinking and expertise of our ex-military employees that we could so quickly build and deliver such a complex and challenging operation on such a large scale.

As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, we support ex-Forces personnel into civilian work to demonstrate our respect for the selfless service they have given our nation.

But for UK employers looking to take on new talented recruits into their organisation, our brilliant ex-military personnel should be the first place to look.

– Mitie is a UK management and professional services company. It provides infrastructure consultancy, facilities and property management and energy and healthcare services.

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