London, 30 September 2022: YGAM are proud to have formally signed the Armed Forces Covenant, signalling our continued support for the Armed Forces community.
The Armed Forces Covenant supports serving personnel, service leavers, veterans, and their families with a range of services and initiatives. The Armed Forces Covenant focusses on helping members of the armed forces community have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizen. It has been backed by local and national government, businesses, charities, and communities.
YGAM has consistently shown its support for the Armed Forces through its policies which support reservists with additional time off for training, exercises, and deployment. The charity’s recruitment supports applications from reservists and former Armed Forces personnel. YGAM celebrates Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day annually both internally and externally. The staff team has now surpassed 40 employees including two employees who are currently serving as reservists.
YGAM are also pleased receive the bronze award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). The award recognised employers that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Dr Jane Rigbye, Chief Executive at YGAM, said; “It’s important to us, as an employer, to support the Armed Forces Covenant. We are very proud to employ members of the Armed Forces and work closely with other charities serving both current and former military personnel. This is a natural progression for us as an organisation that cares about its social impact, the lives of people in the UK and our team members.”
Sam Robinson works as an Education Manager, leading YGAM’s work in Wales. Sam is also a Lance Corporal in the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers. His role as an army reservist is to provide combat engineer support and support homeland resilience Sam welcomed the news, saying; “Reservist careers give you lots of new and varied experiences, the fact YGAM has chosen to recognise and value that is hugely important, and by showing that support through the covenant shows a real and enduring commitment to the Armed Forces family.”
Sam Low, Customer Relationship Management and Systems Manager at YGAM and a Royal Navy Reserve general warfare rating. Sam’s training focuses on seamanship and weapons to provide operational capability to the main Royal Navy as and when is needed. He said “I feel fortunate to have an employer like YGAM who is so supportive of my passion to serve my country whilst working full time in the charity sector. I’m proud to be part of an organisation like YGAM, which has committed itself to the covenant.”
Further information about support services available to both serving personnel and their families, and veterans and their families, is provided on www.gov.uk
You can also read the Armed Forces Covenant promise in full here.
