Total VeteranCareer Transition Partnership (CTP): Resettlement Entitlement Explained
Your resettlement package depends on how long you served. Here is what CTP gives you at each service length, when to start and how to book.
- Six or more years, or a medical discharge, gives the Core Resettlement Programme with up to 35 days of Graduated Resettlement Time.
- Four to six years gives the Employment Support Programme; under four years gives CTP Future Horizons.
- Most support runs from two years before discharge to two years after.
- Reed in Partnership has delivered CTP with the MOD since 1 October 2024.
- In 2024/25, 86% of leavers who used a billable CTP service were employed six months after leaving.
The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is the Ministry of Defence's official resettlement service for people leaving the UK Regular forces. What you get depends on how long you served: six years or more (or a medical discharge) opens the full Core Resettlement Programme, four to six years gives the Employment Support Programme, and under four years gives CTP Future Horizons. For most people, support runs from two years before your exit date to two years after it.
Since 1 October 2024 the MOD has delivered CTP in partnership with Reed in Partnership, which took over the contract from Right Management after 26 years. The GOV.UK CTP guidance says the service has supported more than 310,000 personnel. This guide sets out the entitlement rules, what each package contains, the timeline and the booking process.
CTP entitlement by length of service
Your package is set by your completed Regular service and the reason you are leaving. Personal circumstances can also change the type and amount of support, so confirm your own entitlement with your Service Resettlement Adviser.
| Programme | Who qualifies | When you can use it | Headline support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Resettlement Programme (CRP) | Six years or more of service, or any medical discharge | From two years before discharge to two years after | Up to 35 days of Graduated Resettlement Time, training grant, full workshop and brief menu, one-to-one guidance |
| Employment Support Programme (ESP) | Four to six years of service | From two years before discharge to two years after | Employment Support Workshop, digital platform, jobs portal, CV and interview help |
| CTP Future Horizons | Under four years of service, including Early Service Leavers | Two years after discharge | Needs assessment, career profiling, career planner, jobs board, referrals to training and apprenticeships |
| CTP Assist | Personnel on Recovery Duties and others facing significant barriers to work, with no minimum service | Flexible, extended in line with your medical condition and recovery pathway | Tailored one-to-one support, including the five-day Career Transition Workshop Plus |
Two details matter at the edges. Personnel over 50 with more than 30 years of service can start CRP earlier than the usual two-year point. And maximum CRP entitlements apply once you pass 16 years of Regular service, according to the MOD's Discover My Benefits resettlement page.
What the Core Resettlement Programme includes
CRP is the full package. The current GOV.UK guidance lists these elements:
- Graduated Resettlement Time (GRT): up to 35 working days of official duty time for resettlement activity, with the exact number based on your length of service. You keep your daily pay and receive travel and subsistence while on GRT.
- Individual Resettlement Training Costs (IRTC): a training grant you can put toward CTP courses or approved external providers. Discounted CTP courses are charged against IRTC at £26.70 per day, according to the Army benefits page.
- Career Transition Workshop (2 days): the standard starting point for CRP. A five-day Career Transition Workshop Plus exists for people who need extra help, usually on CTP Assist.
- Self-Employment Awareness Workshop (1 day): delivered by X-Forces Enterprise for anyone considering working for themselves.
- Finance Brief (1 day): financial planning, tax, pensions and benefits, delivered with the Forces Pension Society and Lester Brunt. You may bring a partner.
- Housing Brief (1 day): renting, buying and related finance, delivered with Defence Transition Services.
- Retirement Brief (1 day): for those planning to stop work.
- One-to-one advice: a career consultant helps you build a Personal Resettlement Plan.
- Vocational training: internal and external courses, many leading to recognised qualifications.
- Events and digital tools: free entry to nine Employment Fairs a year, employer webinars, a jobs portal with forces-friendly employers, job matching, an interview simulator, CV store and live chat.
Delivery runs through ten Regional Resettlement Centres across the UK and the Resettlement Training Centre in Aldershot.
The "CTP First" rule for training
CTP courses should be used before external training. When you do go external, you can combine IRTC with Enhanced Learning Credits, which pay up to 80 per cent of approved course fees. Our guide to ELCAS and Standard Learning Credits explains how the two fit together and how IRTC can cover your 20 per cent contribution.
The Resettlement Grant
Separate from CTP but part of the same resettlement picture, the Resettlement Grant pays up to £15,047 in your final month's salary. You need at least 12 years of Regular service and no other immediate payment, such as an immediate pension, ill-health benefits or an Early Departure Payment. The figure comes from the MOD's Discover My Benefits site; check the current rate with your pay office before planning around it.
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What ESP and Future Horizons include
The Employment Support Programme concentrates on getting you into work: a one-day Employment Support Workshop, CVs, interview preparation, job search and access to the CTP digital platform for up to two years after you leave. The GOV.UK guidance lists Graduated Resettlement Time under CRP only, so ESP leavers should plan job-search activity around leave and duty commitments.
CTP Future Horizons covers Early Service Leavers from all three services. It starts with a needs assessment, then online self-analysis, career profiling, a career planner, the jobs board and referrals to training, apprenticeships and further education. If you served under four years, read our guide to apprenticeships and trade pathways alongside it.
Your resettlement timeline
The process is triggered through JPA, the forces personnel system. The Army guidance sets out the sequence, and the other services follow the same principle.
- Two years out: when you enter your final two years of service, JPA records you as a Service Leaver. Early Service Leavers are recorded when notice is given.
- Resettlement Advisory Brief: you receive a JPA workflow to see your Service Resettlement Adviser. Service Leavers should attend within three months of entering the final two years. Early Service Leavers should attend within one month of giving notice or being told of discharge.
- CTP registration: once JPA sends the workflow "Action required: to complete resettlement registration", you can register with CTP.
- Career Transition Workshop: book it early. CTP and the MOD both describe the workshop as the best way to start.
- Personal Resettlement Plan: agree training, briefs and GRT use with your career consultant.
- After discharge: eligible leavers can keep using CTP services for up to two years.
Your entitlements sit inside a fixed two-year window before discharge. Booking the Resettlement Advisory Brief and your first workshop as soon as the JPA workflow arrives leaves the most time to use GRT, training funding and work attachments.
How to book and who to contact
The CTP website is modctp.co.uk, where you can view and book workshops. The MOD's VALOUR guide to CTP lists the CTP contact details as ctp.info@reed.com and 0121 236 0058. Inside the services, Resettlement Information Staff give first-line information and your Service Resettlement Adviser runs the advisory brief and signs off your plan.
If you left more than two years ago, CTP no longer applies. The Forces Employment Charity offers lifelong employment support regardless of rank, length of service or reason for leaving, and can be reached on 0121 262 3058.
How well does CTP work
The MOD publishes annual outcome statistics. The 2024/25 bulletin, published 12 February 2026, covers people who left between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025:
| Measure (2024/25 leavers) | Result |
|---|---|
| Regular and Gurkha personnel who left | 14,588 |
| Used a billable CTP service | 10,208 (70%) |
| Employed six months after leaving | 86% (88% in 2023/24) |
| Unemployed six months after leaving | 7% (5% in 2023/24) |
| Economically inactive | 8% |
| Employed, medically discharged leavers | 73% |
The figures count billable services only, so free events such as career fairs fall outside them. The gap for medically discharged leavers is the clearest signal in the data: if you are leaving on medical grounds, ask early about CTP Assist and the extended timeline it allows.
Getting the most from your entitlement
- Decide on a target sector before you spend IRTC, then pick courses that employers in that sector ask for in their job adverts.
- Use GRT for work attachments and interviews as well as courses. Employers value time spent in their environment.
- Translate your service record into civilian language before the first job fair. Our guide to military CV translation tools covers the free options.
- Bring your partner to the Finance and Housing Briefs. Both decisions affect the household.
- Keep copies of every JPA workflow, approval and course booking. They settle disputes about entitlement later.
What to do this week
- Check your completed Regular service against the CTP entitlement table and note which programme applies to you.
- Book your Resettlement Advisory Brief with your Service Resettlement Adviser as soon as the JPA workflow arrives.
- Register with CTP and book a Career Transition Workshop or Employment Support Workshop date.
- Pick one target sector and list the courses, briefs and work attachments that lead to it.
- Ask your Education Centre how IRTC and Enhanced Learning Credits can fund the same course.
Questions people ask
How many years do you need to serve to get full CTP resettlement?
When does CTP resettlement start?
Can I use CTP after I leave the forces?
Who runs the Career Transition Partnership now?
Do Early Service Leavers get any resettlement support?
- GOV.UK, "Career Transition Partnership" (guidance, updated 2024). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/career-transition-partnership
- GOV.UK, "Getting employment support when leaving the armed forces" (updated 2 October 2024). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/getting-employment-support-when-leaving-the-armed-forces
- MOD VALOUR, "The Career Transition Partnership: your first step into a civilian career". https://valour.campaign.gov.uk/career-transition-partnership/
- MOD Discover My Benefits, "Resettlement" (Army). https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/army/professional-development/resettlement/
- Ministry of Defence, "Career Transition Partnership annual statistics: UK Regular Service Personnel Employment Outcomes 2024/25" (12 February 2026). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698b15cd95285e721cd71275/Career_Transition_Partnership_annual_statistics_UK_Regular_Service_Personnel_Employment_Outcomes__2024-25.pdf
- Forces Employment Charity, "Home". https://www.forcesemployment.org.uk/
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