Turfcare equipment company John Deere has been named as one of the UK’s top 15 employers of people who have recently left the armed forces.
The achievement reflects the success of its Military Hiring Programme, which continues to offer veterans careers as technicians in agriculture and professional turfcare.
The GREAT British Employers of Veterans programme benchmarks organisations to set a national standard for employing former servicemen and women.
John Deere made the top 50 last year but has risen further up the ranks in the 2026 list, which has recently been released. The company’s final placing will be announced in June at the ninth annual British Forces in Business Awards.
“We are passionate about finding a way to give back to those who have served our country,” said Allan Cochran, John Deere Branch Training Manager for the UK and Ireland. “The skills and the mindset of those leaving the forces are perfectly suited to the roles being offered by our dealerships, and those who have resettled into the John Deere family have cited many similarities in a working environment that’s built around team effort and camaraderie.
“We’re honoured to be recognised in this way and thrilled to be shortlisted in the Top 15. It will further fuel our passion for offering service veterans a next step in their careers across the agricultural and professional turfcare sectors.”
The groundbreaking initiative to attract ex-service personnel into new careers at John Deere was launched in the UK in 2023.
Following the success of a similar scheme in the United States, the Military Hiring Programme matches former members of the armed forces with technician role vacancies at dealerships across the country. In addition to John Deere, four dealerships have signed the Armed Forces Covenant in support of service leavers pursuing careers in the agriculture and turf industries.
Hunt Forest Group, Ripon Farm Services, Ben Burgess and Tallis Amos Group have all pledged to ensure that those who serve, or have served, in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly and should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.
The 50 GREAT British Employers of Veterans was created to provide a definitive, data-backed guide to the UK’s most exemplary Forces Friendly employers. It stands as a mark of excellence for organisations whose support is embedded, enduring and effective.
Each year, more than 15,000 individuals leave the British Armed Forces. Highly trained, values-driven and mission-focused, they represent one of the most capable and under-utilised talent pools in the labour market. Yet barriers remain to building a meaningful second career.
Ben Rossi, founder of the global Forces in Business Awards series and 50 GREAT British Employers of Veterans programme, said: “Nine years in, the Forces in Business Awards have grown into a significant platform – not just for showcasing outstanding talent, but actively changing how the business world thinks about where that talent comes from. The quality of this year’s nominations has been remarkable and the stories behind them make the case more powerfully than any statistics ever could.
“Hiring from the Armed Forces community is not an exercise in corporate responsibility or morality. It’s a serious talent strategy which elevates business performance. These finalists are proof of that and we’re proud to celebrate them as high achievers in their own right, but more importantly as powerful role models for the many service leavers who follow them.”
Service members and ex-service members interested in the John Deere Military Hiring Programme can find out more by visiting Deere.com/JDMHP.