Growing Fresh Careers
Ruralink works with the land-based sector to develop accessible pathways, including training, for a foll career on the land.
WHO WE ARE
Established by former Army officer, Fiona Galbraith, in 2017, RURALINK is a growing group of experts who believe that military service-leavers are ideally placed to fill a wide range of increasingly technical roles on the land.
We take on commercial contracts offering employment and experience to service-leavers in transition and demonstrating first-hand the capabilities of ex-forces people to our customers. United by our own military experience and can-do attitude, we work in focus teams to bring the right blend of military and land-based experience to each project. And if we know some-one else who can help, we'll gladly introduce you.
We also provide free career change coaching to service-leavers to help them establish themselves in a new career in the sector. We also lead the flagship ELC-registered Rural Business course for service-leavers looking to make the transition into leadership roles in the food, farming, land-management and renewables sectors.
We are also very pleased to have launched Ruralink Training, which is delivering new learning opportunities to the sector. Our first offering, launched in May 2022, is the Rural Facilitator, an already highly acclaimed, practical, professional development course which improves the effectiveness of all those wonderful people working hard to deliver social, economic and environmental change across our communities.
In July 2023, we launched the new course for Integrated Local Delivery (ILD) practitioners. "Local Action : Global Impact" is mentored by experts with several decades experience of delivering impactful local projects leveraging national and international funding to deliver global impact. Find out more and register for your place on the course page.
We are very proud to have been awarded the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, which particularly recognises our work to advocate with rural businesses on behalf of the military community. We encourage our partners to sign the Armed Forces Covenant themselves.
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WHAT WE BELIEVE
Service leavers and Veterans
The Ruralink FARMERS Values are common to service-leavers and land-based businesses.
Veterans have all of these as they are closely aligned to the Values and Standards of all the Services.
Veterans are FORMABLE - Used to changing roles and location, they will prepare thoroughly and expect to start delivering real value within days of arriving in a new role. They are culturally aware and able to get on well in any team.
Veterans are ADAPTABLE - They will readily turn their hand to a wide variety of roles and cope well with changes at work. And they will bounce back quickly after any set back: in fact, they are likely to be the person who stays calm and sees the opportunity whilst others are still measuring risk.
Veterans are RELIABLE - They will turn up on time (5 minutes early) with the right kit, ready to work.
Veterans are METICULOUS - Coming from an environment where attention to detail saves lives, they will be thorough and "sweat the small stuff."
Veterans are ENERGETIC - Generally fit and healthy, veterans bring energy, a good sense of humour and an infectious desire to see measurable progress on the job.
Veterans are ROBUST - Rain doesn't bother them! And they can cope with periods of long or unsociable hours.
Veterans are SELFLESS - They work hard to get the job done and put the needs of the mission and the team before their own. They are quick to credit other team members for success and frequently use "We" where others may say "I".
In exchange for all this, veterans look for an employer who provides fair leadership, supports their career development and values each member of the team.
Rural Businesses
Rural businesses struggle to find reliable, robust team-players.
Over 14,000 highly trained personnel leave the armed forces every year, the majority with technical skills and qualifications which are a good fit for rural businesses.
Service leavers benefit from a resettlement package which supports a period of work experience and financial support for re-training up to five years after leaving.