We are delighted that our new HRFCA Gold Network has now been created and networking is under way!
The group consists of the current 15 Gold Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) employers in the HRFCA area of responsibility, from NHS Orkney in the north to Stirling Council in the central belt, and IED Training on the east coast.
The 15 public and private sector employers have all achieved coveted ERS Gold status and have been part of the national Gold Alumni Association (GAA) based in London. However, as the GAA continues to grow, it was decided that each RFCA should have its own regional group to represent local interests as well as national ones, and thus our Scottish Gold Network has been set up.
The Chair of the Network is Malcolm Norman of Wood plc, and the Vice Chair is Stuart Sutherland of Scottish Water.
Malcolm is currently Wood plc’s Global Chief Information Security Officer. Prior to that he was the MD of a risk management company, the Global Chief Security Officer of several FTSE/Fortune 500 companies and for 20 years was an officer in the UK Armed Forces where he was primarily involved in counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations across the globe. He is the Chairman of Wood’s Armed Forces Network and extremely proud of the Gold ERS Award earned by Wood plc in 2019.
Stuart is currently a Senior Programme Manager at Scottish Water with a background in Construction Project Management. Stuart is also Co-Lead of Scottish Water’s Armed Forces Network having help set up the group in 2017, subsequently championing for defence people across the business and beyond, achieving Scottish Water’s ERS Gold award in 2020. Stuart served as a Regular soldier in the Royal Engineers before joining the civilian world of work and is currently a serving Reservist.
The aim of the group is to advocate for Defence people, while sharing best practice and ideas, as well as encouraging and mentoring Bronze and Silver employers to gain Gold status.
The Gold Employers will work with our Regional Employer Engagement Directors Ray Watt and Roy McLellan to support Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, and to liaise with local units in collaborative partnerships.
The Chair and Vice Chair will also feed into the UK-wide GAA to ensure the interests of businesses in Central and Northern Scotland are well represented.
To find out more about the group or to make contact with one of the members, please contact Ray Watt at [email protected].
Gold Network members: Janet Robertson (Dundee City Council); Lyndsay Lauder (Scottish Ambulance Service); Stuart Gray (Knockhill Racing Circuit); Ian Clark (IED Training Solutions Ltd); Glenda Gray (Aberdeenshire Council); Kristine Johnson (Stirling Council); Geraldine Lyden (West Dunbartonshire Council); Darren Buck (Aberdeen City Council); Sharon Faulkner (Angus Council); Morven MacLeod (High Life Highland); Lynn Blaikie (Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce); Serena Barnatt (Golden Jubilee Hospital); Gillian Gall (Golden Jubilee Hospital); David McArthur (NHS Orkney); Malcolm Norman (Wood plc); and Stuart Sutherland (Scottish Water).
