A former sergeant major who stood on a roundabout with a ‘job wanted’ sign having had 400 job rejections starts work today.
Wayne Taylor, 46, from Wrexham, begins his new role today as a specialist engineer with a company near his home.
Mr Taylor was earning £45,000 when he left the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery in December 2011, but he could only find minimum wage jobs when he left the army.
He said: ‘The trouble with trying to get work if you’re ex-army is they look at us and think we were only there to kill people…that’s blunt but it’s how it is.’
Taking drastic measures, he decided to stand at a roundabout in Chester with his home-made sign last month.
After that made national headlines, the 46-year-old was deluged with more than 1,000 emails.
Wayne Taylor (pictured) resorted to drastic measures after failing to get 400 jobs he applied for. The 46-year-old stood outside the entrance to Chester Business Park with a sign reading ‘Job wanted. Educated to degree level. Speak to me please’ in a bid to get an offer. He’s starting a new job today as a specialist engineer with a company near his home
His new employers, who have not been named, got in touch with him a couple of days after his story appeared.
They provide specialist engineering services to the oil industry.
Mr Taylor, who completed a safety course last week, said: ‘I didn’t just jump straight in. I waited and made sure I went for the right thing for me. I can’t wait to put my skills to good use.
‘I’m really looking forward to it. I think this will be my last job. It looks really good, and there are lots of opportunities there.’
Mr Taylor joined the Army at the age of 16 and served for 25 years, touring Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.
After leaving the Army he struggled to find a job he felt matched his abilities and ambitions.
He had brief stints working as a carer and a prison custody officer, but hadn’t settled into any permanent position.
He said: ‘Things had been really difficult so I thought it was time to be proactive and try something different.
‘I’d had no response from so many applications, I just thought ‘go and give it a try and see what happens’. It might just work.’
After leaving the Army he struggled to find a job he felt matched his abilities and ambitions
Mr Taylor is pictured during his time serving with the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery
Last month he put together a sign which read ‘job wanted – educated to degree level – speak to me please’, drove to Chester Business Park and soon the offers began to pour in.
He said: ‘A lot of people came forward…it was a big response.
‘I had upwards of 1,000 emails and I’ve tried to respond to every one. My wife, Laura, had to take a couple of days off work to help deal with everything when it was at its peak. The phone was constantly going.’
He added: ‘I wasn’t expecting the publicity. It spiralled. I went to Chester Business Park to get noticed, and that’s what happened. It also helped highlight the fact that lots of other vets are in this position. It’s raised awareness of the issue.’
Mr Taylor, of Garden Village, Wrexham, has had brief stints working as a carer and a prison custody officer, but had not settled into a permanent position since leaving the army
Mr and Mrs Taylor, 48, got married in 2014 after meeting online.
She said: ‘When employers see his CV with ‘military’ on it, all they think is ‘thick squaddie’.
‘But my husband led hundreds of men. He’s not a thick squaddie.
‘He was offered £8 an hour to deliver mattresses. No disrespect to people who do that, but he is capable of so much more.’