How do you fancy recruiting from a talented but hugely under-appreciated pool of labour? 20,000 members of the armed forces leave each year and many fail to secure jobs worthy of their skills.

Sometimes it can be because they themselves do not recognise the great skills they have acquired in their years of serving Queen and country. Combined with a lack of experience in marketing themselves, this leaves them at something of a disadvantage.

But as General Sir Mike Jackson (former head of the British Army) recently said: “The personal qualities that somebody leaving the services brings with them are very attractive to a potential employer. They are team oriented, they are self-disciplined, they have a good work ethic and they get there on time.”

He could have added that most are used to taking responsibility for surprisingly large budgets, many have had the ultimate responsibility for the lives of their teams, and for those that have endured combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, endured physical and mental hardship of a level most of us can only dream (or rather have nightmares) about. Sorting out the odd bit of labour unrest in a retailer’s distribution centre might seem a walk in the park in comparison.

Together with the author and ex-soldier known as Andy McNab, Jackson has fronted up a new organisation, ForceSelect, designed to marry service leavers with potential employers. This is simply a great idea and, founded at the end of last year, it has come none too soon. The Strategic Defence Review, due by the autumn, will only accelerate the number of leavers from the three services.

Of course hiring from this talent pool will require a different sort of sensitivity for retailers. The bedding-in period may be longer than normal; the new civilians may at times be frustrated by instructions being ignored or followed with truculence - rather than without question.

But it behoves UK industry to provide a fruitful career for those who have given so much for the nation. If you can make contact with potential hires before they leave the services, so much the better. Officers and men alike have access to a wide variety of courses to develop new skills before retirement, so it makes sense to point them in the right direction for that training.

Sainsbury’s has become an early major partner of ForceSelect, and I gather that the organisation is in talks with several other retailers. If you have not already been in touch with them, I urge you to do so quickly - and make sure you lay hands on the bright guys before your rivals.

On an entirely separate note, Sir Stuart Rose hosted his last AGM - to some applause. But one cannot help but notice that the Marks & Spencer share price is back to almost exactly the same level as when he arrived (to much fanfare) in May 2004.

This means a total shareholder return of just 18% - against say 76% from Next over the same period. The stock market can be a harsh reality check at times.

Paul Smiddy is a retail consultant