10/12/10
Former army major sets-up business to help ex-military personnel find work on ‘civvy street’
A former infantry army major from the Rhondda has set-up a training business to help former soldiers, sailors and air force personnel find work after leaving the armed forces.
Major Alun Davies, aged 62, from the Rhondda, served 42 years in the Royal Welch Fusiliers before retiring in 2008; when he spotted a gap in the market for a firm to provide training services that could help ex-military personnel prepare for working life outside the armed forces.
With help from Venture Wales, the country’s leading support agency for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, Major Davies set-up Gotcha International Academy, in February 2009.
In its first year Pontyclun-based Gotcha International Academy, which is thought to be the only training provider of its kind in the UK specialising in training for former armed forces personnel, has generated a turnover of almost £250K (2009/10), which it hopes to double to £500k by 2012.
Gotcha International Academy, which employs three people, has helped train over 300 former armed forces personnel via its UK-wide network of ten trainers that can provide training in hundreds of different courses. The company works closely with Careers Wales to make jobseekers aware of funding and training available to them through Welsh Assembly Government-funded schemes such as JobMatch and ReAct.
Some of the many courses it offers includes training for close protection or security operations, door supervision, CCTV operating and first aid as well as various academic and vocational training in anything from plumbing and electrics through to health and safety, marketing and business management.
It also offers assistance through the qualifications awarding body Edexcel to help ex-forces personnel update their CVs, complete job application forms and prepare for job interviews.
Alun Davies, founder and director of Gotcha International Academy and a former instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, said: “It can be very difficult for ex-military people to adjust to civilian life and find new employment. It’s been made doubly difficult in the last couple of years because of the recession and credit crunch.
“Soldiers want work not handouts but a career in the military can be hard to transfer into a civilian job and we can help make the transition process from the military to civvy street much easier. At Gotcha we’re all former armed forces personnel so we know exactly what our clients are going through, what questions they will have and what help, advice and support they need to build a career outside the armed forces.
“Venture Wales has helped us with a wide range of business advice from managing accounts and financial planning through to marketing and PR, which has helped us improve the performance of the company,” he added.
Gotcha International Academy has recently moved to new premises in Pontyclun increasing the size of its current office by 50%, gaining two dedicated training rooms. Over the last year, the business has doubled the number of trainers working across the UK and now offers training courses for civilians as well as ex-armed forces personnel.
Phil Cooper, chief executive of Venture Wales, said: “Alun and his team at Gotcha are providing a vital service to help former military personnel identify and develop civilian careers. Adapting to civilian life can be a challenge for many service men and women and it’s important that these people are adequately prepared and equipped with the skills they need to find work when they leave the forces.
“Gotcha has the unique knowledge, skills and experience to deliver this service and we will continue to support them to help ensure the long term success of the company. Alun has demonstrated that it you have a flare for entrepreneurship then it’s never too late to start your own business.”
