The Scottish Government has launched an employment recruitment drive for veterans aimed at helping them get jobs in the private sector.

Veterans minister Keith Brown launched the project to encourage businesses to recruit former members of the Armed Forces at a summit at Dumfries House in Cumnock, East Ayrshire, on Monday.

Prince Charles attended the launch of the Supporting Veterans into Employment scheme, which is run by Business in the Community, the Prince's responsible businesses network, with funding from the Scottish Government.

The summit also promoted a virtual jobs fair for veterans developed by Salute My Job, funded by the Scottish Government's Scottish Veterans Fund.

Mr Brown said: "Veterans are a significant asset to Scottish businesses. They offer employers a huge amount, through their unique skills sets, training and experience.

"Unfortunately, employers often miss out on the talent offered by veterans as recruitment practices can fail to recognise this valuable experience - experience that could help employers facing recruitment, retention and skills shortage challenges.

"This initiative is designed to address this by harnessing the energy and expertise of supportive employers to champion veterans in the workplace and encourage the private sector as a whole to become more veteran friendly."

As part of the scheme, a tool kit for recruiting ex-forces members will be drawn up between organisations that support veterans' employment, and a series of events will be held to encourage connections between employers and veterans.

Jane Wood, managing director of Business in the Community Scotland, said veterans' "skills and attributes offer such a significant resource to Scotland's economy and communities".