Compass Shortlisted for Large Employer of the Year at the Heropreneur Awards

Compass Group UK & Ireland has been shortlisted in the ‘Large Employer of the Year’ category at this year’s Heropreneur Awards, which recognise businesses that actively seek to employ members of the military community, specifically military veterans and dependants.

Heropreneurs is a military charity which was founded in 2009. They support the entrepreneurial business ventures of the military community by recognising the drive, determination and ambition of those that are leaving, or have left the Armed Forces.

Compass Group UK & Ireland has been nominated following work carried out alongside the Armed Forces Community. This includes employment programmes which assist military personnel in transitioning from military to civilian employment, as well as ways they support veterans and military dependents to realise their full potential in the workforce. This includes the development of specific resources and programmes, such as live webinars for service leavers; an Armed Forces resettlement pack, which provides guidance on getting a new role; and an induction brief, specifically for people from the military; as well as newsletters and a new buddy system.

Camilla Howard, Operations Director, ESS Defence South West commented: “Being ex-RAF and a military spouse myself, I am really proud to be part of the Compass Group UK&I Armed Forces Stakeholder team, working to support veterans leaving the Services, Reservists with an extra 10 days holiday for their training, and military spouses who are continually on the move yet want to remain in our team on posting. We continue to support military leavers and their families by partnering with organisations like the Career Transition Partnership and Forces Families Jobs, as well as enhancing training and development, communications and recruitment resources to make transitioning into ‘civvy street’ easier. We are a people driven organisation that relies on the skills, personality and adaptability of our colleagues, so it is great to see this work recognised and to get positive feedback from those benefitting from the initiatives.”

The Heropreneurs Awards, which will take place virtually this year, were started in 2018. The winners are being announced virtually, with a category winner announced every other week from mid-August until November.

Compass Group UK & Ireland signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2016 to widen the support for service personnel and their families. This followed ESS, Compass’ support services provider for defence, offshore and government, signing up in 2013.