Serco : Reserves Minister sees value military reserves bring to business

Date: 01 Jul 2016

Serco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Virgin Media showed Minister for Reserves Julian Brazier the value military reserves bring to their businesses as he attended an event at their shared business campus in Hook, Hampshire on Thursday, 30 June.

The joint event, which followed Armed Forces Day (Saturday 25 June), is believed to be the first time that three large companies have come together in this way to celebrate the role of military reservists and share information with employees and their managers about the support available to them.

The Minister heard from senior leaders in each organisation about the benefits that reservists bring to business, both for the individuals concerned and for the wider operations, and discussed with Lt Col Nik Bruce from 39 Signals Regiment, a specialist local Army Reserve unit, the need to further strengthen ties between the Armed Forces and business. He also spoke to a number of reservists about their experience in the military and the support they receive to help them combine both their military and civilian duties.

Approximately 200 employees from the three companies attended a series of briefings throughout the day where they had the opportunity to hear directly from the local Regiment - known as The Skinners - and learn about the benefits of becoming a reservist and employing one.

Attendees later enjoyed a BBQ lunch which offered an informal chance to network, look at some of the displays and quiz colleagues and personnel from all three services.

Mr Brazier said: 'Reservists are key to the success of many of our operations at home and abroad, and the training they receive is first class. Flexibility and support from employers makes a tremendous difference in allowing this training and service to take place in the best conditions. Reservists serve both their country and their employers with the same integrity, commitment and talent.'

Geoff Lloyd, Serco's Group HR Director added: 'If you consider the skills you develop in the military - leadership, discipline, loyalty, dealing with pressure, decision making - it's not surprising that reservists make great employees. I am very proud of the fact that we offer real support to our employees who volunteer to serve in the Reserve Forces, as well as employ a significant number of ex-service personnel right across our business. We want to significantly increase the number of Reservists working for Serco and only with the active support of people across the company will we achieve this.'

Roger Hood, Director of Strategic Intelligence at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, commented: 'Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a long history of supporting the MOD, and we are delighted to be supporting this cross campus event. This is one of four major reservist recruitment events we have run at our sites across the country, as part of our support for the MOD's reservist targets. We are proud of our reservists and delighted to encourage more of our teams become reservists.'

Ends

For more information, please contact: Tracey Cobbett at Serco on T 07590 779 327 E tracey.cobbett@serco.com

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