Seanamic Group has become the latest organisation to sign the UK Armed Forces Covenant, a commitment to support the UK’s servicemen and women wherever and however it can, ensuring no member of the Armed Forces should suffer a disadvantage because of their service.
Chief Executive David Hutchinson signed the document at the group’s HQ in Aberdeen on December 9. The document was co-signed on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by Lieutenant Colonel Gordon McKenna from 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital.
Lt Col McKenna and David Hutchinson sign the Armed Forces Covenant.
The signing was particularly significant for Lt Col McKenna as he is retiring at the end of the month from the Army Reserve following a significant period of service.
He said: “I joined the TA in 1987, and it gives me great pleasure to represent my organisation, in one of my last acts, to help support the Armed Forces in this way.”
Seanamic Group consists of four specialised companies – IMES International, Caley Ocean Systems, Umbilicals International and Flexlife – combining in-depth engineering and equipment manufacture with the inspection and integrity assurance of critical assets. The integrated systems provided by the Group are used globally in the offshore energy, defence and oceanographic industries. The Group joins more than 4,500 UK organisations to have now signed the Covenant.
Mr Hutchinson said: “This is a two-way relationship with the Armed Forces. Not only do we employ skilled, loyal and disciplined people who move on from their service, but we also receive knowledge and guidance to assist our business, and work with the MoD on products and services that support our ongoing military forces and campaigns. It’s very much a win/win approach with our UK Armed Forces Covenant.”
Paul Basford is a former Royal Marine employed by Group Company IMES International as a Business Development Manager.
He said: “Transferable skills from the UK Armed Forces are always difficult to define when being interviewed for a new positon, particularly when that position is far away from what had become ‘business as usual’. Imes International presented me an opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands. After five years there are still some rough edges that need to be smoothed away and every day is a school day, but the confidence generated during 25 years in the UK Armed Forces as a Royal Marine, the ability to adapt to new environments and technologies coupled with the capacity to communicate at all levels are skills that can’t be taught in a classroom and that’s what we bring to the party. Thanks to Imes I had the opportunity to move into a new and exciting industry – rough edges and all!”
Lt Col McKenna and Paul Basford.
The company’s commitment to honouring the Covenant includes pledges to:
- Promote the fact it is an Armed Forces-friendly organisation.
- Seek to support the employment of veterans young and old and work with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for Service Leavers.
- Strive to support the employment of Service spouses and partners.
- Endeavour to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment.
- Seek to support employees who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible.
- Offering support to local cadet units, where possible.
- Aim to actively participate in Armed Forces Day.
From left: Lt Col McKenna (205 Fd Hosp), Paul Basford, David Hutchinson, Amie Shewan (all Seanamic) and Jim Dickie (HRFCA).
The Covenant signing was organised by Highland Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association and attended – along with the signatories – by the organisation’s Regional Employer Engagement Director Jim Dickie.
Jim said: “I am delighted that Seanamic Group has formally pledged its commitment to the Armed Forces community by signing the Armed Forces Covenant. We are very much looking forward to working with them via our Employer Recognition Scheme and thank them for the opportunities they are providing to our forces and ex-forces personnel.”
To find out more about the Armed Forces Covenant, click HERE, or phone Jim Dickie on 01382 631026 or email [email protected].
