AECOM receives gold award from Ministry of Defence
The Gold Award is the highest accolade under the ERS, awarded to organisations that pledge, demonstrate and advocate support to the Armed Forces community and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant last year, AECOM has increased the number of Reservists it employs in the UK by 40 percent through new hires and encouraging its employees to join the Army Reserve. In the past year the company has also introduced a bespoke placement service for recruiting military personnel looking to leave the Armed Forces, which has resulted in a 20 percent increase in veterans. Although widely adopted in the US, this type of initiative is less common in the UK.
AECOM received the ERS Gold Award for introducing a number of initiatives that demonstrate its active support for military personnel. These include enhancements to the company’s HR policy to support the Reservists and Cadet Instructors in its team. To actively recruit, retain and support Reservists and Cadet Instructors, AECOM supplements their annual leave with 15 extra days’ paid leave for military training and deployment. This is a market-leading initiative and a differentiator in AECOM’s recruitment drive, especially for graduates.
The company has also introduced a series of initiatives to support the transition to civilian life such as open days, workshops and training forums that will develop transferable skills. A new partnership with a regiment of the Royal Engineers has helped foster knowledge sharing between the two organisations and provided the Army group with a direct link to recruit Reservists from AECOM’s graduate pool. Through this relationship, AECOM graduates have attended leadership events and training exercises at Sandhurst and Chetwynd Barracks and in Cyprus, leading to a number of them joining the Army Reserves.
Steve Morriss (left), AECOM’s Chief Executive of Europe, Middle East, India and Africa and an Honorary Colonel in the Royal Engineers, who served for 16 years in the military both as an Officer in the Royal Engineers and as a Royal Marine Reservist, said: “Last year we promised to intensify our efforts to support the Armed Forces and make a real difference to the serving and ex-military personnel in our employment. I am proud of the collective effort that has been made across our UK business, which has been recognised by the Ministry of Defence today.
“As a former Officer myself, I have seen first-hand the breadth of highly transferable skills our Armed Forces can bring to a company like AECOM. We remain committed to recruiting servicemen and women looking to leave the military and providing them with a rewarding second career.”
Congratulating the Gold Award winners, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “Every year the level of support from companies across Britain for the Armed Forces continues to grow. This commitment is making a real difference to everyone who serves and their families – whether giving Reservists more time to train or supporting veterans or spouses, they embody what the Armed Forces Covenant is about.”
AECOM continues to accelerate the recruitment of ex-servicemen and women to join its UK operations in a range of roles, in disciplines such as engineering, construction, project management and support roles, including HR, legal and finance. The company currently has over 250 open vacancies in the UK alone that would be attractive to people from a military background.
The ERS was launched by former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014.
