Marching out of the dole queue

Face daubed in camouflage paint and eyes bright with excitement, 26-year-old Desmond Keeling can scarcely believe his luck.

After four years of job hunting without even getting the offer of an interview, he has finally been given a chance and is grabbing it with both hands.

He is one of the many jobseekers quick marching to join forces with the Army in the hope of finding work.

As revealed in the Express & Star last week, the military is going into battle with the Department of Work and Pensions to help the unemployed out of the dole queue.

Forty people from the Black Country wanted to sign up within 24 hours of the details being released of Midlands Spear - Supporting People into Employment with the Army Reserve -and further inquiries are pouring in all the time.

The first of the three-week courses, involving 10 jobseekers from Wolverhampton, started on Monday of last week and has already been given a big thumbs up by those taking part.

One of them was Desmond from Bilston.

"I was so depressed at getting nowhere in life that I was thinking of giving up," he said. "But I I have loved this, especially the training and the fitness. I have also got qualifications in first aid and other skills that will improve my CV.

"This has also boosted my confidence. Before I started this course I was shy, but I quickly bonded with the rest and have been having a great time."

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Claire Westwood is an employer advisor at Wolverhampton's Chapel Court Job Centre, where people have been applying for the new scheme.

"We have been inundated with inquiries," she said. "We had 40 calls on the first day after the news report and have had loads more since. On top of that other people have been asking their work coaches how they can join - and it seems to be just as popular with the girls as the boys.

"There were hopes that this would be popular but we had no idea that the response would be so good. This idea has certainly got legs and seems set to run and run.

"Once the guys finish the first course and start telling their friends and neighbours how much they have enjoyed it, then it will really take off. The change in them, even after four days, was remarkable.

"They were making eye contact, smiling and had got the spark that employers look for. They are picking up skills that will enhance their CV and give them a much better chance of finding work."

Brigadier Gerhard Wheeler, Regional Army Commander for the West Midlands, Staffordshire and the four other surrounding counties, added: "This is a good way of instilling discipline, teamwork and leadership in the individuals. These are skills that any employer would value."

The project also gives the Army the chance to see if any of those taking part are interested in joining the Army Reserve - formerly the Territorial Army - that has to boost its numbers by 1,500 to around 3,500 in the area covered by Brigadier Wheeler by 2020 as part of a national drive to increase its overall strength from 19,000 to 30,000.

Also taking part is Heart and Soul, a not-for-profit community interest organisation based in Low Hill that helps those on the course with interview techniques and filling in a CV in a way that makes the most of the skill of the applicant.

The first two weeks of the inaugural course were based at the Wolverhampton Fallings Park HQ of the 4th Battalion the Mercian Regiment - an Army Reserve unit - with 30 minutes drill followed by a day of activities involving talks about issues like first aid before concluding with a military fitness lesson.

The final two days of the first week were spent at Swynnerton training area near Eccleshall in Staffordshire, where they spent a night sleeping in the open and cooking for themselves. The second week involves team-building and a visit to the Army personal development team at MOD Stafford. The final week will be spent on work experience arranged by Job Centre staff. More courses are already being planned for the Autumn and are also likely to start in Birmingham soon.

During their night under the stars, Desmond prepared with his new-found comrades for a night under a 'basher' - camouflage plastic sheeting tied between a couple of trees - with 24 hours worth of rations, a roll mat, sleeping bag, water, mess tins and mug.

They were told what to do by instructors from the 4th Battalion the Mercian Regiment and then left to fend for themselves deep in the Staffordshire countryside.

Simon Richards, a 30-year-old unemployed stock taker from Merridale, who has been job hunting for seven months, said: "This is my first time out of work and it has been an absolutely atrocious experience. I have applied for hundreds of jobs without so much as an interview. I have tried for every kind of work from stock taking, through warehouse staff to being a chef but got nothing. It is so frustrating.

"But this course has been amazing. We are all in it together and have gelled really well and I am learning new skills. I have to keep pinching myself because if I was not out here with the army I would be doing nothing except applying for more jobs."

James Tipton, 19, who lives in Wednesfield has been unable to find employment since leaving college 12 months ago.

He admitted: "I have enjoyed this so much I am now thinking of joining the Army Reserve. It has been like a breath of fresh air after spending so much time sitting on my back end not achieving anything."

Philip Williams, also 19 and from Low Hill added: "I was not sure of what I wanted to do. Everything seemed pretty hopeless. This course has given me a purpose in life and something to aim for. We have all got on very well."

Jack Blunt aged 20 of Ashmore Park said simply: "This is the best thing I have done in my life. Now I am going to apply to join the regular Army."

Johnathan Brookes took three trains from his Hereford home to ensure he could take part. The South African-born 25-year-old, who had just moved from Wolverhampton, explained: "I heard of this shortly before I left and was not going to miss it for the world. I have not been disappointed and would happily do it all over again."

Ryan Millard, 18 and from Bilston, conceded: "I would be sleeping my life away if I was not here. This has put a smile on my face again and given me something to get up for."

Sky Dudley, aged 21, also from Bilston, was the only woman on the course.

She said: "I have had short-term jobs but nothing permanent. The good thing is that I am treated the same as everybody else. They don't make things easier for me. I have to do exactly the same as the boys which is what I want."

Captain Austin Miller, 4Mercian Operational Support Officer, stressed the thinking behind the project.

He said: "The first course is not trying to frog march those taking part into the Army Reserve. If they do not want to join that is perfectly understandable. We are helping them to improve their job prospects with the aspiration that some will want to join us. If they do not then they will go away having had a good, positive experience and feeling they have achieved something."