Bureau Veritas UK, a leader in testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services, has been recognised by the Ministry of Defence in its Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), which rewards UK employers for their support and commitment towards Defence.

Bureau Veritas was one of just 11 companies presented with a Silver award in recognition of its successful Military Recruitment Scheme at a prestigious event held at the Cold War Museum, RAF Cosford.

The programme, which has seen the company recruit 90 ex-forces personnel since 2012, is designed to help those leaving the armed forces, including wounded, sick and injured servicemen and women, the chance to apply their skills and build a career with Bureau Veritas.

In December 2015, Ken Smith, CEO of Bureau Veritas North West Europe, signed the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant which underlines the company’s commitment to support the Armed Forces community and to recognise the value serving personnel, both regular and reservists, veterans and military families contribute to the business and our country.

Steve Dutson, Strategic Resourcing Manager for Bureau Veritas North West Europe, said: “We are honoured and delighted to receive this award, which recognises the efforts of a huge amount of people.”

“Our Military Recruitment Scheme, Joint Forces, has proved extremely popular and it continues to go from strength to strength. We recognised that many people leaving the armed forces were finding it difficult to gain visibility of positions with companies like Bureau Veritas, where they could apply the skills they already have to build a second career with an excellent training programme and genuine development potential. At the same time, we as employers were missing out on outstanding candidates with discipline, leadership skills and plenty of experience of working in a fast paced technical environment.

“We developed a structured programme and with the support of the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and Recovery Career Services (RCS), Bureau Veritas has been able to help many ex-service personal complete their resettlement journey and support many more through work placements or by giving advice.”

Bureau Veritas has been recognised by the Top Employers Institute for the third year running, gaining Top Employers UK 2015 certification late last year.