BES Group and ECITB launch 28-day Discovery programme for veterans with guaranteed interviews

Former Armed Forces personnel have begun a 28-day training programme in Warrington that guarantees every learner a job interview on its final day, launched by BES Group and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board.

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) said the first cohort started the Discovery programme on 9 November, when the two organisations met the veterans, their coaches and tutors at BES Group's Warrington headquarters.

Each learner who completes the course will interview for a live vacancy in one of five career pathways: nuclear, asset reliability, engineering surveying, electrical inspection and rail inspection. They will then receive a career action plan with check-ins at three, six and 12 months, the ECITB said.

Andrew Hockey, ECITB chief executive, said: "Guaranteeing every learner an interview on the final day shows the strength of our partnership with industry and our confidence in what these individuals can achieve."

How the programme works

The ECITB described the scheme as employer-led and endorsed by the City & Guilds Foundation. It runs in three phases.

The first fortnight prepares the cohort and gives an overview of the five pathways. Forces Transition Group provides practical transition support throughout the programme.

All learners then complete the CCNSG Safety Passport, ECITB Confined Spaces (medium risk) training and IPAF 3a and 3b training in the safe operation of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs). The ECITB describes the CCNSG Safety Passport as the nationally recognised safety card for the UK engineering construction industry; it is a two-day course and more than one million cards have been issued.

In the final fortnight learners pick one of the five specialist pathways, taught by tutors from BES Group and Assystem, to build sector-specific skills and recognised qualifications.

Alongside the formal training, each learner has a coach drawn from BES Group and Assystem. All of the coaches are veterans themselves, and will signpost learners to government-backed support where needed. Kerry Lockyer, a learning and development leader and TEDx speaker, is training the coaches and volunteering her time free of charge.

Stewart Kay, BES Group chief executive, said: "Moving into civilian life can be a significant change and it isn't always obvious how the skills, built up over years in the Forces, can translate into a completely different industry."

Kay said the company already has many former members of the Armed Forces in its workforce and that the programme is also about giving something back.

The partners

BES Group describes itself as an advisor across testing, inspection, certification and compliance, with "over 800 skilled engineers" and more than 160 years of industry experience. In its Armed Forces Covenant pledge, published on GOV.UK, the company said it has partnered with the Career Transition Partnership since becoming an independent business in 2015, that a significant number of new starters join each year directly or indirectly from the Armed Forces, and that it runs an internal Armed Forces community founded by one of its ex-military leaders.

Assystem, which supplies the other tutors and coaches, has operated in the UK since 1996. It describes itself as EDF's level 1 engineering partner on the UK nuclear new build programme and says its UK teams also provide engineering and digital services to the defence sector.

The ECITB is the employer-led skills, standards and qualifications body for engineering construction. It is an arm's-length body reporting to the Department for Work and Pensions, is funded by a statutory training levy on the industries it serves, and says it invests more than £32m a year in skills development.

The training board announced on 30 September 2025 that it had received the Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, and said it had worked with the Career Transition Partnership to provide opportunities for people leaving the forces. Chris Mann, its director of learning and assurance, spent 25 years in the Royal Navy as an aircraft engineer.

What happens next

Final-day interviews for the first cohort are expected in mid-December, and the ECITB said further cohorts are planned for 2027.

Prospective candidates can attend an online information session on Friday 13 November at 12.30pm.