On Wednesday 28th January, organisations from all over the West Midlands region gathered together at our Partnering with Defence conference to hear the latest on current developments within the defence employer engagement pace.
The conference took place at Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre, famed for providing world-class sporting facilities for individuals, the local community and some of the country’s leading sportsmen and women.
Our guests were greeted with refreshments on arrival and the event began in earnest with an insightful opening State of the Nation address from Commodore Tristram Kirkwood OBE RN, Naval Regional Commander for Wales, the West of England and Channel Islands.
We then took a closer look at the new DRM operating models with our own Cat Suckling and Darren Knight, before Steve Lees, Armed Forces Engagement Manager at JLR, discussed his work with the Gold Award Association.
Next up we were delighted that the Invictus Games team could join us, providing a moving presentation looking ahead to Birmingham 2027.
Before lunch, we then held our Gold and Silver 2025 ERS Revalidation presentation. The packed room was full of smiles and encouragement as forces-friendly businesses came forward to collect their commemorative plaques.
A big congratulations to:
Silver ERS revalidations
– SafeLane Global
– University of Birmingham
– Minerva Elite Performance Limited
– Solihull College & University Centre
– Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
– Athenium Limited
– YSS
– The Surveillance Group Limited
Gold ERS revalidations
– Black Country Chamber of Commerce
– City of Wolverhampton College
– Finning UK Limited
– Herefordshire Council
– Leak Peaks Associates Limited
– New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering
– Serve and Protect Credit Union
– Spectra Group (UK) Limited
– Telford & Wrekin Council
– The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
– Warwickshire County Council
After lunch, we wrapped up the event with three open discussion groups, giving our guests the opportunity to dig deeper into the topics discussed during the morning.
We’ve had some fantastic feedback, and are incredibly grateful to all our attendees and contributors for making the day so valuable.
If you would like to find out more about more about the employer recognition scheme, please click here.
See below for a brief video capturing the event:
