Every month, we’re shining a spotlight on organisations across the West Midlands that are committed to supporting the Armed Forces community. This month, in celebration of Reserves Day, we are proud to feature Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a Gold employer that has held the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award since 2015. At JLR, this commitment is brought to life through the experiences…
Darren Knight is one of three Defence Relationship Managers (DRM) for the West Midland RFCA (WM RFCA). Darren has worked for the WM RFCA for two years. His role consists of building relationships between industry and Defence. “One of the first steps in establishing that relationship is through the Armed Forces Covenant, which is one of the main areas I work on. Another…
Meet Stacy Cleghorn, an Army veteran with 26 years of service. Stacy joined the Army when she was just 16 years old, with no previous military experience and no family members who had served in the Armed Forces. She grew up in East London and, like many 16-year-olds leaving school, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. Why Stacy Joined…
We want to say a big congratulations to all our 2026 Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award recipients across the West Midlands. These organisations have gone above and beyond in their support for the Armed Forces community, helping to create more forces-friendly workplaces and recognising the values that Reservists, Veterans, the Cadet movement, military families and service leavers bring. There are 31 Silver Award…
Flight Lieutenant Saffron Ferreira joined the Air Cadets when she was just 14 years old. Eleven years later, she is still at her home unit, 888 (Oldbury) Squadron, now serving as Squadron Commander. At first, I was really against joining the Cadets, mainly because I had to wear a skirt. But because I was prone to quitting things before giving things a proper…
Employees from across the West Midlands stepped away from their day-to-day roles to experience leadership training delivered the Army way through the Exercise Executive Leader and Exercise Future Leader programmes. Leadership Training the Army Way Designed to challenge, inspire and develop professionals at different stages of their careers, both events combined leadership theory with practical team-based exercises, giving participants the opportunity to test…
Every month, we are shining a light on employers across the West Midlands who are going above and beyond to support the Armed Forces community. These stories offer a valuable insight into what it means to sign the Armed Forces Covenant. This month, we spoke to Jon Sykes, Veteran and Partnerships Coordinator at Serve and Protect Credit Union. Serve and Protect Credit Union…
On Friday 10th April, Black Onyx Academy proudly delivered its first Operation Mindset workshop, designed to highlight the importance of communication, teamwork, and resilience among young people in the local community. As a veteran-led organisation, Black Onyx Academy is deeply committed to passing on the valuable skills and experiences gained through service to the next generation. The session saw fantastic engagement throughout the…
Every month, we will be shining a spotlight on employers across the West Midlands who are going above and beyond to support the Armed Forces community. These stories offer valuable insight into what it means to sign the Armed Forces Covenant. This month, we’ve spoken to Mike Sykes of ESCO Maritime Solutions, a business that is rebuilding its Armed Forces Covenant journey from…
On Saturday 14th February 2026, the West Midland RFCA celebrated the official opening of the joint cadets centre in Staffordshire. Located near Beacon Barracks, the new JCC is a modern, eco-conscious training environment built as a shared resource for Staffordshire’s Army and Air Cadets. With expanded classrooms, upgraded facilities and improved access to nearby military housing and barracks, the centre is designed to…
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