Call comes as it was revealed offshore wind giant Ørsted, had signed the Armed Forces Covenant and has agreed to support the employment of veterans. Tony McDonough reports
Members at the Mersey Maritime March Face-2-Face networking event heard a call to action for companies to support reservists in the workplace and offer employment and training opportunities to those leaving the armed forces.
The call came as it was revealed offshore wind giant, and Mersey Maritime member, Ørsted, had signed the Armed Forces Covenant and has agreed to support the employment of veterans by working alongside the Career Transition Partnership.
Bridge to business
Geoff Nuzum, regional employer engagement director of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, addressed the breakfast event and asked those present to consider supporting the Armed Forces Covenant or Employer Recognition Scheme.
His role is to act as a bridge between businesses and defence in the North West with colleague Chris Ashworth, and it has been developed is to give businesses a voice in defence, in terms of providing additional support for reservists in the workplace and harness the skills of those looking for their next career on leaving the forces.
Geoff said the forces will support businesses that have a reservist serving by helping with the costs of having the person away, including the salary of a temp and the salary of the reservist.
He also talked about how up to 12,000 talented and disciplined individuals leave the British forces every year and that as part of resettlement, personnel are offered additional leave to work on their CV, study and take work placements.
Ørsted support
Ørsted, which operates the Burbo Bank wind farm in Liverpool Bay, will also offer flexibility in granting leave for service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment wherever possible, as well as supporting employees who choose to be members of the reserve forces.
The company already has many service veterans working on projects both offshore and onshore across the UK and the signing of the Covenant is a way to formalise the company’s pledge to ensure that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families are treated with fairness.
Managing director Matthew Wright, said: “At Ørsted, we have refined our recruitment processes to ensure that we attract and retain new talent from a wide range of sources, as well as supporting and employing people in the communities where we develop and operate our projects.
“In our experience, service veterans possess many transferable skills and qualities which have led to a successful transition to careers in the offshore wind industry. We are therefore delighted to formalise our pledge of support to those who serve or have served in the armed forces with the signing of this covenant.”