RFCA members from across the East Anglia region joined a group of employers, all of whom have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, at The Royal Hospital Chelsea for a guided tour by the Chelsea Pensioners.
The Employer Engagement team coordinated the visit to The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Chelsea Pensioner Bert, who led the tour, impressed the visiting group with extensive knowledge of the history of the buildings, landmarks and people. Fifteen people attended the tour, and everyone’s feedback was extremely positive. One company representative said afterwards: “We have chosen The Chelsea Pensioners as the main charity we’ll fundraise for this year. We were very moved by the people here and their cause.”
Kristina Carrington, Regional Employer Engagement Director, believes employer visits like this one are an important and effective way of helping employers to better understand the military, and how the skills and experiences gained through uniformed service can benefit the civilian workplace. Kristina has a great deal of experience working with companies of all different sizes and industries, guiding businesses through the process of writing and tailoring their Armed Forces Covenant pledge. She said: “The best covenants are those that are ambitious, include specific pledges and demonstrate an awareness of how the company can make a difference to the lives of those who serve.”
Some of the employers who attended the tour are Gold ERS award holders. They had the opportunity to share their journey of supporting the Defence community with RFCA Employer Engagement members and staff and other organisations.
Now more than ever, the Reserve Forces are an integral and vital part of the UK’s Armed Forces. The support of their employer is essential to enable them to undergo training to achieve the high standards of professionalism required. Our Employer Engagement staff and members continue to work to establish and maintain strong, mutually-beneficial partnerships with employers in support of Defence and the Armed Forces Community in the region.
Contact Kristina today to ask about advice and support with the pledge and to find out about more upcoming networking events.
