J Taylor

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…

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…

Officer Cadets from URNU Birmingham explore Gibraltar

Students and staff from the University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) Birmingham, alongside regional units from URNUs Wales, Devon, and Bristol visited Gibraltar for a week of local heritage and a taste of the contemporary role of the Royal Navy in defending the rock’s territorial waters. Having already held a visit to Gibraltar the previous year, Ex Auream Petram built on this and involved…

New kitchens are better for the environment

Photographs before works commenced. The kitchens at the Tiddesley Wood and Bramcote Cadet Training Centres (CTC) have been revitalised with upgraded facilities. Working together with Three Pines Ltd, Principal Designer/Architect David Richards, and Abraxas Catering Equipment, our Building Estates Manager for the South Region, Richard Cameron project managed the works to modernise and improve the facilities. With our commitment to tackling climate change…