AWS signs Armed Forces Covenant
Above: General Sir Chris Deverell co-signs the Covenant with Gavin Jackson, UK Managing Director at AWS.
AWS’s new ‘re:Start’ programme will offer service leavers, military veterans, reservists, cadets and their spouses technical classes and work experience placements with on-the-job training in cloud computing and how to architect, design and develop cloud-based applications.
Defence Minister Mark Lancaster welcomed the pledge, as AWS joins over 1,000 businesses to have already signed the Armed Forces Covenant, which the government enshrined in law as a promise from the nation to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces and their families, are treated fairly.
He said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for our Armed Forces community to gain cutting-edge technological skills fit for the modern workplace and is yet another example of the Covenant in action - helping to ensure that our people and their spouses move into good careers bringing their skills to industry."
The training will be delivered by AWS’s training partner QA Consulting and service leavers will receive support from the MoD’s Career Transition Partnership scheme (CTP) which helps them learn new skills and transfer the unique ones they have learnt from the Armed Forces into a new career. The CTP has been a great success, with around 85% of those who have used it going into full-time employment within six months of leaving the Armed Forces.
Individuals who complete the AWS re:Start training course can expect to be eligible for many different technical positions to employers such as Amazon.co.uk, EDF Energy and Tesco Bank, who have all pledged their support to the programme.
General Sir Chris Deverell, Commander at Joint Forces Command, was on hand in London on Thursday to co-sign the Covenant on behalf of the MoD. He said: "The launch of AWS re:Start and AWS’s signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, validate the company’s commitment to our servicemen and women. The programme recognises the value that Reservists, veterans, service leavers and their spouses can contribute to UK businesses and provides them with a clear path for learning and applying some of the technology skills in most demand across industries.
