Wellbeing and Employment Workshops for partners of RAF personnel

RAFBF Information:

For partners of people serving in the RAF, there can be several challenges from dealing with deployments and frequent moves to paying for childcare and planning for the future.


Through research we have carried out, we're aware that the most significant barriers to partners moving forward are not a lack of experience or qualifications, or writing CVs or interview skills, but identifying what they want to achieve and the routes to do this.
Our new programme, Thrive, aims to help partners overcome these barriers and aims to also:

• increase the employability of partners who are looking for paid employment
• further the skills of partners who are already resourceful
• explore alternatives to paid employment
• improve overall wellbeing and emotional resilience
• reduce social isolation

We are running trials of Thrive at RAF Leeming, RAF Halton, RAF Benson and RAF Northolt, with a series of five workshops taking place at each location led by qualified coaches who themselves have served or are the partners of serving RAF.
Workshop coursesThe workshops at RAF Leeming, RAF Halton and RAF Benson will focus on the following:

1. What holds you back – identifying self-limiting beliefs and identifying ways to overcome them.
2. Wellbeing – involving a holistic approach covering physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, occupational and social wellbeing.
3. Resilience – focusing on your ability to maintain mental health and wellbeing when faced with adversity. The ability to remain effective at home and work. The workshop will address four key areas – awareness, thinking, reaching out and fitness.
4. Values, skills and strengths – involving exercises particularly aimed at those seeking to return to work or move jobs. It will explore and identify values to enable participants to better 'fit into' companies, recognising your key skills and how to describe them in a transferrable way and looking at your strengths focusing on positive outlooks.
5. Hot seating – where you will have a turn at being in the 'hot seat' and describe your particular focus or goal. Not only does this provide many different ways for you to move forward, this could be a good way in helping you to decide if you would like to go to receive further coaching or possibly specialist training.

The focus at RAF Northolt is on exploring entrepreneurship and the course is titled 'A Start-Up Adventure', with an aim of helping you develop and work on any business ideas you may have in a supportive environment.
Sign up to ThriveTo apply to take part in our Thrive programme, simply fill in our online form.

We recommend attending all five workshops in the series in order to gain the maximum benefit from the programme. However, each workshop will be stand-alone if you prefer to attend just one.
Each workshop will last for two hours, which includes a break, with an additional hour of informal networking and coffee afterwards.
The workshops are free to attend, and childcare will be arranged or provided for those that need it.

If you would like more information about our Thrive programme, please contact Damian Pinel, RAF Projects Manager on 020 7303 3434 or 07702883641 or email damian.pinel@rafbf.org.uk.