Celebrating the Exemplar ‘Forces Friendly’ Employer of the Year Award
The first ever Celebrating Forces Families (CFF) Awards Evening will be taking place at the end of April in London and the CFF Team are thrilled to be sharing news of the Exemplar ‘Forces Friendly’ Employer of the Year Award finalists. Four amazing organisations will be part of the evening’s black tie celebrations to find out who will walk away with the winning trophy.
For the employer who has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, uses Forces Families Jobs and is actively seeking and supporting the employment of partners of those who serve in the Armed Forces.
Meet the finalists
Meredyth Grant founded Charlie Charlie One – a specialist digital marketing and communications agency. Her company actively seeks to provide flexible employment for those with marketing, creative and public relations skills who may have faced barriers to employment as a result of being ‘married’ to the military. She also advocates for more digital skills & training opportunities for military partners to support their career progression and employment opportunities.
Barclays is an Armed Forces Covenant signatory with a Gold ERS award and actively uses Forces Families Jobs, seeking and supporting the employment of partners of those who Serve in the Armed Forces. For over 10 years, the Barclays Military and Veterans Outreach initiatives have supported personnel and their families with building careers and landing the right job. The team are also here this evening having recently delivered another successful Spousal Employability Programme in Scotland.
When Mott MacDonald signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2019, they were insistent that their commitment applied across the military community including military families. The associated skills families bring translate directly into benefits for the business, be they leadership skills, diversity of thought, resilience or an ability to empathise with Mott MacDonald’s clients. As a Silver ERS award holder, their flexible approach as an employer also means that they both recognise and accommodate any unique challenges that can come with life in the Armed Forces.
Nadine Monks runs Forces Family Finance to provide support to the military community in accessing home ownership and financial security. The company holds Silver ERS award status and was established to combine the expertise and experience to create a bespoke offering. The company provides a variety of positions within the business for the community, including formal apprenticeship placements. You’ll often find them advertising on Forces Families Jobs.
Headline Award Sponsor, Steve Richards, CEO of Parkdean Resorts says:
“The variety of people who make up our UK-wide team is our strength; what unites us are the values that we live and breathe in everything we do. These values drive our aim to support the Armed Forces community within our organisation, promoting understanding and awareness, and investing in training and development to allow them to thrive professionally and personally with us.
“As a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, and having attained a Silver Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, we are delighted to celebrate fellow employers working to engage military personnel and their families.”
CFF Event Team Lead, Sarah Walker says:
“As Chair of the MOD’s Partner Employment Working Group, I see the great work that employers who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant are striving towards. More and more businesses are proactively reaching out for, and welcoming family members into their workforce from the Armed Forces Community. They understand the unique lifestyle that can come with being a military family, and use the free platform, Forces Families Jobs to advertise their vacancies, courses and apprenticeships. All four finalists here are great examples of ‘Forces friendly’ employers and I wish them the best of luck for becoming Friday’s Award winners.”
Military families supporting military families
This event really is being brought together from within its own community. The event team are all military family members themselves representing 11 military organisations – some grew up as military children, others as partners or Veterans. This includes additional resources such as Lee Mowlem from remarkablepixel.co.uk, Helen at helenholtphotography.com, Al Topping of xtremeexposures.com, Hannah Illingworth of hivirtualassistant.uk and Andrea Baker of bsclothingandgifts.co.uk.
Thank you to the sponsors
The financial support provided by all of the amazing CFF sponsors has allowed this tri-Service event to be a truly memorable evening for all families involved.
All award finalists
You can read about all of the CFF award finalists through the CFF website.
For more information
Explore the CFF website, or you can contact the team by emailing info@celebratingforcesfamilies.co.uk.