Cuts to Britain’s military could see servicemen and women with technical skills find work but others may swell the ranks of the unemployed, according to Jean Claude Hedouin, managing director at Ex-Mil Recruitment.

Yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Britain’s military forces would shed 17,000 servicemen and women, with 7,000 cut from the army and 5,000 from the RAF and navy respectively.

Hedouin told Recruiter: “It depends on where they make the cuts and which type of people they cut. If they cut from the corps, people with technical skills will have opportunities to get new roles.

“In the Royal Signals, you have telecommunications and IT engineers. In the Royal Engineering Mechanical Engineers, you have the military’s mechanics who look after tanks and helicopters.

“However, if they cut from the tank regiments, there is not much call for a tank driver or a machine gunner. Those guys could find it difficult.

“The IT and telecoms engineers would be picked up by IT and telecoms companies and because they have good technical skills. Cablers can also move into the green energy sector.”