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(l-r) VIVO employees Alex Macrae, Ella Felix and Kenwyn Hughes with the award
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme has awarded VIVO Defence Services with a silver award.
The scheme recognises employers that pledge, demonstrate and advocate support to the defence and armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the Armed Forces Covenant.
VIVO – a 50/50 joint venture between Equans and Serco which works solely for the UK military and its partners – has brought in various schemes and policies to help the armed forces community and these were noted at a special event in Durham by Brigadier Ben Banerjee, the Head of Army Healthcare, as he presented the silver award.
Specific examples referred to include VIVO pledging a target of at least one fifth of its new recruits coming from a military connection and – despite only starting operations in 2022 – having already exceeded this.
Brigadier Banerjee also mentioned that VIVO partners with three single service military charities – the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, sponsors the Army Hockey Association and football teams for children from military families, has two colleagues nominated for this year’s Women in Defence awards and provides health, mental and emotional wellbeing support for its new starters with a military background.
In addition, the brigadier praised VIVO for assisting with the Listening Ear project at Bovington Academy, a school in Dorset near Bovington army camp made up mainly of children from service families. The project aims to address the transient nature of their educational career by providing a safe space where the children can express their emotions and feel listened to as many move multiple times during their school years as their parents are posted to new locations.
The fact that VIVO offers work placements for service personnel was also mentioned as a reason for gaining the silver award. VIVO does this to help upskill those due to finish military service so that when they return to civilian life, they have trade experience in a relevant skill.
David Eccles, Regional Employment Engagement Director for the North of England at the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, said: “We are very grateful that VIVO Defence Services have formally demonstrated their efforts in creating a forces-friendly environment and supporting the Defence industry. VIVO has been awarded the Silver ERS award as a result of its support for the Armed Forces Community and for its employees who are Veterans or currently in the Reserve Forces.”
VIVO Defence Services provides maintenance, grounds maintenance and billable works for Service Family Accommodation across the southwest and southeast regions as well as the Built Estate in the southwest and central areas on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, which is part of the Ministry of Defence.
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