Armed Forces Covenant signed

Thames Water has joined other leading energy and utilities employers in signing the Armed Forces Covenant which shows support for serving military, including Reserves, service leavers, veterans, and their families as well as attracting and recruiting ex-military personnel into the sector.

The Covenant was signed at an event arranged by the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership on September 25 and forms part of Thames Water’s wider strategy on recruiting former service men and women, who often have skills very relevant to the water industry such as engineering, leadership and incident management.

Spencer Whiteley, who served in the armed forces and now works as a regional pumping manager at Thames Water, attended the event. He said: “It’s amazing how many of the skills I built up during my military career have been useful in my role here at Thames Water when it comes to solving problems and managing a team. It’s great that my own employer as well as others have recognised that former service personnel have so much to offer the utilities industry.”

In total, 24 employers have agreed to further collaborate and work in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, (MOD), Defence Relationship Management (DRM) and the Department for Work and Pensions, (DWP), to attract and retain more ex-military employees into the industry.

Nick Ellins, chief executive of Energy & Utility Skills, commented: “I am delighted to see our leading employers support the covenant. With a good proportion of the 14,000 people that leave the armed forces every year possessing highly sought-after skills, service leavers are a fantastic talent pool and ideally suited to our industry.”

Ian Westcott, senior national account manager, National Employer and Partnership Team at DWP, said: “The Armed Forces community can contribute real value to a business with their wealth of skills and experience. It’s admirable that the energy and utilities sector are one of the first to take an inclusive approach and become an armed forces friendly industry.”