One of Huddersfield’s major industrial employers has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, a formal commitment to support current and former military personnel and their families.

Cummins has signed the agreement to support service leavers as they return to civilian life. The aim is to ensure they are provided with fair and equitable opportunities for employment.

Cummins hosted the Armed Forces Ceremony to bring together employees, civil servants and members of the Armed Forces to celebrate the signing of the covenant.

Cummins, which is a global power technology leader with 5,400 employees in the UK, was previously honoured as a Military Friendly employer in 2021 for its work to support veterans and their spouses through employment and supplier initiatives.

Now, Cummins has joined more than 7,000 organisations in the UK to make an official declaration of support and demonstrate the company’s commitment to empower the armed forces community inside and outside of work.

Cummins will bolster its diversity and inclusion policies through the delivery of its Veterans Inclusion strategy, which include:

• Employment support for services leavers by working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) – the official provider of resettlement which has supported veterans to civilian life for over 20 years;
• A veteran’s transition experience programme to enable armed forces leavers to gain experience of work with Cummins;
• Redeployment support for spouses and partners needing to move to accompany their serving spouse/partner;
• Support for colleagues who are members of the Reserve Forces, granting additional paid leave for duties;
• Encouraging employees to volunteer to be military cadet helpers or instructors, recognised through Cummins’ Every Employee Every Community programme.

Antonio Leitao, vice president of off-highway, engine business & Europe area business organisation at Cummins, said: “We are proud to support serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families and we recognise the great value that the armed forces community brings to our business and the country.

“People who have served in the armed forces add enormous value to a business, bringing vast experience and skills that are grounded in leadership, decision-making, and teamwork.

“We’re committed to attracting and retaining a wide range of talent. Signing the Armed Forces Covenant will allow us to welcome new colleagues whilst supporting our outstanding ex-Forces team members.”