Image caption (from left to right): Rear Admiral Stephen Moorhouse CBE Royal Navy and Paul Bristowe. Chief of Staff at ABP sign Armed Forces Covenant.
Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has formally boosted its commitment to the employment of those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces and their families by signing the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) on a nationwide level. By doing this, ABP will receive the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Bronze award.
Previously, ABP has achieved the ERS Silver award in relation to ports on the Humber and in Marchwood, but with today’s ceremony, the company sets out its plans to progress towards achieving the Silver award across its nationwide portfolio of ports.
ABP signed a long lease on Solent Gateway in 2023, who have also received ERS Silver award. This means that ABP can now build on previous learning and continue to recognise the valuable contributions of service personnel, veterans, reservists, and their families.
Paul Bristowe, Chief of Staff at ABP, said: “We recognise the experience and skills that colleagues involved with the Armed Forces and their families bring to our company. We are firmly committed to being a forces friendly employer and as part of this, we will continue to work with members of the community by supporting fair recruitment practices that don’t disadvantage this group, supporting reservists at ABP, running awareness campaigns and more.”
Rear Admiral Stephen Moorhouse CBE Royal Navy, said: “We are delighted to see ABP leading the way amongst port operators in demonstrating its support for the Armed Forces community. Many of the skills required to succeed in the port sector overlap with the ones that service personnel develop throughout their careers, so it’s great to see ABP leading the way in being a more attractive employer for this group.”
Alison Knight, Head of ABP Academy, Talent and Recruitment, commented: “As we progress towards getting ERS Silver award across the group, we will seek to strengthen our partnerships. We will build on our existing alliances with The White Ensign and Career Transition Programme to attract talent from the veteran and Armed Forces communities.
“We will also join Forces Family Jobs to actively promote job opportunities for family members of serving UK military personnel.”
Today’s development is underpinned by ABP’s strategic commitment to support the defence sector and builds on momentum created when, in January this year, ABP announced a new strategic relationship agreement with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to boost the capacity, flexibility and resilience of the UK sea mounting capability.
The agreement provides the MOD with access to ABP’s portfolio of ports across the UK for loading and unloading of military hardware from vessels used to transport equipment across the world at no additional cost to the original contract relating to the Port of Marchwood.
