Reflecting on our Armed Forces conference
We had another successful Armed Forces conference on 17 March 2026. The event features a variety of lively breakout and mainstage sessions where attendees learnt about the values, training and skills that members of the Armed Forces community bring to the NHS.
For those who attended the conference you have 30 days to catch up on any sessions that you missed or to refresh your learning.
If you didn't sign up you can also catch up on one of the main stage sessions where we hear from Reservists in the NHS as well as from NHS England about how including the Armed Forces community in your workforce can boost your skills mix and improve patient care.
Reflections from the day
Throughout the day we collected together the learnings and reflections of our speakers and attendees including:
- Reservists receive invaluable training as part of their commitment, this can be generalist skills such as working under pressure and leadership and clinical training that can count towards their CPD and mean they do not need to take study days.
- By supporting Reservists and the whole Armed Forces community organisations can support the goals of the 10 year workforce plan to recruit from their local communities as well as aiding retention.
- Members of the Armed Forces community can be great fits for apprenticeships but organisations need to make sure they are reaching out to them. This could be via insight days, workshops and employability workshops with local authorities
- We heard from Dr Bex Bennett, the co-founder of Sisters in Service. She discussed the great resources and networks that are out there to help trusts support the veterans that work in their organisations.
- We heard how having your board on board can make sure you embed the value of the Armed Forces covenant in your organisation.
Getting ready for 2027
If you have been inspired and want to attend next year make sure you are signed up to receive our regular Armed Forces bulletin where you will be first to hear when places go live!
