Employers receive coveted Ministry of Defence Award
Thirty seven employers from the West Midlands region have been presented with their Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Silver Awards. Our awards took place on Wednesday 11th September, at the National Memorial Arboretum. The ERS awards are now in their 10th year and continue to recognise employer support for the wider principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. The scheme encompasses bronze,…
New Chief Executive for West Midland RFCA
Colonel (Ret’d) Richard Maybery took on the role of Chief Executive at the West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association (RFCA) in December 2017 after a 35 year career in the regular Army. After nearly seven years in the Colonel Maybery is retiring and handing over to Lieutenant Colonel (Ret’d) Richard Hopkins. Colonel Maybery commented: “It’s been an enormous privilege to have been…
Organisations win Gold Award for supporting Armed Forces community
193 organisations, nationally, have been recognised with a Gold Award from the UK Government, the highest badge of honour for supporting the Armed Forces community. The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award recognises the positive role that employers play in supporting defence and inspiring others to do the same. This year organisations of all sizes, from all sectors and from…
New Hard Facilities Management arrangements for Reserves and Cadets
New arrangements to provide Hard Facilities Management (HFM) to Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites used by Reserves and Cadets have come into effect today (1 August 2024). The MOD’s existing Built Estate contracts, which provide HFM services to Defence sites across the UK, were amended to add the additional sites into their scope. The Built Estate contracts were awarded to Mitie Defence, VIVO…
Reserve Unit have winning start to training year
37 Signal Regiment have had a winning start to their new training year and it all kicked off with the Inter Corps Operational Shooting Competition (OSC). The Inter Corps OSC took place at Pirbright Ranges from 12th to 14th April and the work put in to prepare certainly paid off, with 37 Signal Regiment shooting team sweeping the board and returning with a…
Army Cadets hit the mark at clay pigeon shooting competitions
Cadets from across Shropshire aimed high at the county’s Inter Services Cadet Clay Competition. At the start of June, teams from the Sea Cadets, Army Cadets and RAF Air Cadets competed for both team and individual titles, testing their precision at the Buller Clay Range in Donnington. A notable success for Shropshire Army Cadet Force (ACF) included Cadet Hewitt from the Newport Detachment…
Meet our new Regional Employer Engagement Director
Major Darren Knight has recently joined the West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association as the new Regional Employer Engagement Director for Birmingham and the West Midlands County. Darren has a background in both the Armed Forces and civilian workplace, which gives him strong footing for his new role. Darren joined the Junior Leaders’ Regiment Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) in 1985 at…
Award celebrates 10 years since first recognition of Armed Forces Covenant signees
The Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Award celebrates 10 years and with the start of a new decade for the award the West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association (RFCA) are very pleased to announce that 37 organisations in their region are confirmed as ERS Silver Award winners for 2024. This brings the total of ERS Silver holders, in the region, to 138. This…
Summit Learning Trust launches Army Cadet Force detachment
Ahead of Armed Forces Day, Summit Learning Trust welcomed HM Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands, Sir John Crabtree CVO OBE, to a special event to mark the official launch of the Trust’s Army Cadet Force (ACF) detachment. Welcomed to Ninestiles, an Academy – one of Summit’s eight schools – by CEO Vince Green, Sir John proceeded through a Guard of Honour provided by…
Sea Cadets proudly take part in D-Day voyage
Three cadets from Redditch & Bromsgrove Sea and Royal Marines Cadets were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in offshore voyages to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy. Taking part in two-week voyages on TS Royalist and TS Jack Petchey, the Sea Cadets Offshore fleet escorted a ferry taking D-Day veterans from Portsmouth to France…