YORK-based housebuilding firm Persimmon has welcomed one of its first former army recruits after pledging to offer employment to up to 500 ex-armed forces personnel.

Former Army corporal David Verity, from Driffield, has swapped camouflage for shirt and tie after being taken on as a trainee buyer at Persimmon’s head office in Fulford.

The former ex-Infantry Section Commander, who dedicated 12 years to the British Army, completed five operational tours and three overseas exercises, mostly on the frontline.

Mr Verity, 30, said: “This is a big change for me as I’ve never done anything like it before. It will be a big learning curve but I wanted a career that would challenge me.

“I am very proud to have been in the Army and feel I learned many important skills, but after 12 years of travelling around I wanted to settle in one place, and with getting married later this year, now seemed the right time to make the change.”

Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, which has developments in Hull, Malton, Hornsea, Withernsea, Selby, Fulford, Scunthorpe and Doncaster, is working with Nordic Focus Training, to retrain people from the Army, Royal Navy and RAF into various roles.

Group chief executive Jeff Fairburn said: “We worked hard over the course of 2014 to develop this programme to help us meet a shortage of much-needed skilled tradesmen across the UK.”