A new business which helps armed services personnel back into civvy street has scored its first success by landing a former army electronics engineer a job with a West Midlands automotive firm.

Forces Recruitment Services helped Steven Lawton gain a senior management position with Coventry-based King Automotive Systems within two days of leaving the army.

The former Warrant Officer Class One was able to move smoothly back to civilian employment with the precision engineering firm after retiring from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers after 22 years service.

Rugeley-based Forces Recruitment Services was set up by Stewart and Lisa Stirling, who together have more than 30 years army service. The couple now hope to help ex-military personnel across the West Midlands, from all three services and all ranks, to return to civilian employment.

Recruitment experts predict that defence cutbacks could mean a near doubling of the number of military personnel looking for new jobs in 2011 to an estimated 45,000 across the UK.

Mr Stirling said: “It was great to help Steven move out of a career in the army directly into a new job with a fantastic company like King Automotive.

“With our experience of the army we were able to recognise the skills that Steven had and were able to emphasise them to King Automotive,” said Mr Stirling, who retired from the army after 25 years service with the Royal Logistic Corps, serving in the first Iraq War in 1990.