RAF leaver Zoe Catherall is set to begin her placement at The Brightstar Group. She will work alongside Lee Payne, national account manager, who joined the company having previously served as a regimental sergeant major in the Royal Engineers.
Payne (pictured) added: “Mortgage Jobs for Heroes is not just about becoming a mortgage adviser or a business development manager – there are a wide range of roles within the industry that are well-suited to service leavers. The sector offers opportunities across a variety of areas that align strongly with the skills developed in the forces, including marketing, sales, health and safety, facilities management, HR, and IT – highlighting that there is a place for a wide range of experiences and career ambitions.”
The Mortgage Jobs for Heroes programme is a joint initiative between Working in Mortgages and The Brightstar Group. Its purpose is to encourage armed forces personnel leaving service to consider careers across the UK mortgage sector.
It aims to focus on highlighting transferable skills and creating structured entry routes into intermediary roles.
Earlier this year, the Brightstar Group and Working in Mortgages attended the National Transition Event at Silverstone. This annual event attracted over 1,000 service leavers, veterans and their families. It served as a careers and networking forum for those moving into civilian employment.
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Since then, the database of service leavers and veterans who are interested in exploring roles in the sector has begun to develop, with its latest placement of Catherall.
Mortgage Jobs for Heroes is now appealing to organisations across the sector to become ‘host organisations’. Involvement and commitment can vary but might involve organisations offering short-term work placements of varying lengths, guaranteed interviews and also permanent job roles. Potential pathways could also include apprenticeship openings or the pursuit of industry-specific qualifications.
Clare Jupp, chief people officer at The Brightstar Group, said: “We have seen time and time again that talent does not always emerge through traditional recruitment channels. Therefore, the industry should continue to champion imaginative and unconventional routes into the mortgage sector. If we are serious about strengthening and diversifying our workforce for the future, we must be bold about where we look for talent.”
Stephanie Charman, chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), commented: “Mortgage Jobs for Heroes is a fantastic initiative [that] seeks to broaden representation within the mortgage industry. This aligns perfectly with the stated objective of Working in Mortgages, which is to make the mortgage industry a fairer and more accessible place to work and to do business with.
“The mortgage industry must continue to take a proactive approach to succession planning and workforce renewal, and this new initiative will support that ambition. We encourage organisations to step forward and become part of this innovative project.”
