News

Silver Awards for local employers

Award winners from Nottinghamshire

During the ceremony at Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire last Thursday night, organisations received a Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver

award in recognition of their support for Defence personnel.

John Wilson, the Ministry of Defence’s Regional Employer Engagement Director, explained: “This special presentation event was a great success; thirty-three organisations received a Silver award, confirming the strong commitment to supporting members of the Armed Forces community throughout the East Midlands.

“Employing military trained personnel is beneficial to employers; the skills and experiences developed through military training help employers to fill skill gaps in their businesses. These Silver award winners recognise that and actively seek to take advantage of it.”

Leicestershire based winners

The awards were presented by Air Commodore Simon Edwards MA RAF. In Derbyshire there were eight winners, five in Nottinghamshire, seven in Leicestershire, six in Lincolnshire, five in Northamptonshire and two in Rutland.

Dr Paula Holt, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dean at the University of Derby said: “We are delighted to be recognised with a Silver Award in the MOD Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme, which recognises the efforts of employers who have both elevated their commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant and provided actual benefit to the Armed Forces Community.

All of the employers from Derbyshire

“The University of Derby is proud of its strong and growing relationship with the Armed Forces, including support we provide veterans across a range of areas from mental health to resettlement. We are working closely with the Covenant Board and our regional Veterans Advisory & Pensions Committee to ensure we are developing more ways to support service leavers.”

Councillor Stephen Corrall, the Armed forces champion at Leicester City Council, added: “As a former member of the Coldstream Guards and the Council’s Armed Forces Champion it is vitally important to me that our commitment as an organisation to the Armed Forces is not only reflected in the services the Council provides to the community, but also in what we do as an employer.

“I am therefore extremely proud that we have been able to demonstrate this and that our achievements have been recognised by this award. We will continue to work hard to ensure all our staff understand and continue to support our commitment to the armed forces.”

Lincolnshire awardees

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust Chair, Elaine Baylis QPM, explained: “Supporting our Armed Forces community is really important to us both as an employer and in our active role in delivering healthcare to military families across Lincolnshire. We are proud to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant earlier this year and to now receive the Silver Award. We look forward to continuing to forge strong links in our communities, in support and acknowledgement of Lincolnshire’s rich military heritage.”

Calum Osborne, the COO / Deputy CEO of Nottingham Forest Community Trust, explained: “Receiving the ERS Silver Award reaffirms our commitment to the Armed Forces community and also recognises the outstanding transferable skills that ex-serving personnel bring to our organisation.”

Councillor Richard Foster, Rutland County Council’s Armed Forces Champion, said: “Rutland has a large armed forces community and prides itself on supporting local service personnel and their families. The armed forces do an incredible job in difficult and often dangerous circumstances.

Northamptonshire based employers

“This is fully appreciated by our staff and local communities, who are immensely proud of the men and women who protect our country. To collect a Silver Award as part of the Employer Recognition Scheme is a huge honour and underlines just how committed we are at every level of the Council when it comes to supporting the armed forces community.”

To achieve a Silver Award employers need to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, shown flexibility towards the annual training commitments and deployment of reservists whilst also supporting the employment of Cadet Force instructors, service leavers and military spouses/partners.