A Pontypridd-based coach company is putting its support for the Armed Forces’ community into top gear by offering guaranteed interviews for veterans.
Edwards Coaches made the promise as it signed the government’s Corporate Covenant at an event at Maindy Barracks.
News comes just days after it was revealed that a number of jobs will be created with Edwards following a multi-million new contract awarded by National Express to run its services in south west England.
Edwards MD joined service personnel at the base, where he made the promise and signed the covenant – a pledge that no-one should be disadvantaged as a result of having served.
Edwards’ already employ a number of service leavers in a variety of roles which include, driving, engineering and health and safety, so it was a natural move for us to promise interviews to ex-forces personnel, alongside other commitments, such as supporting staff in the Reserves.
“With many veterans working for us throughout the years, Edwards has long been a forces-friendly business and we’re really delighted to formalise this commitment by signing the Corporate Covenant, particularly at a time when we have so many vacancies available. We wholeheartedly support the contribution made by servicemen and women, and signing the covenant is our way of paying tribute to the tremendous sacrifices they make for us”.
Edwards is currently seeking to recruit a number of drivers as well as engineers, and supervisors to get the wheels turning on its new Avonmouth depot, which is currently under construction.
Work on the new Cabot Park depot in the Avonmouth area of Bristol is well underway and the first of a new £12 million fleet of state-of-the-art National Express coaches will roll out from the site on its first day of operations on 1st May 2017.
Once completed, the depot will boast engineering workshop facilities, a fully automated coach wash, re-fuelling facilities, offices and parking.
Coaches will run across the south west, to London, Heathrow and Gatwick Airport, and as far north as Grimsby, Nottingham and Rugby in the Midlands.
National Express was the first company in the UK to sign the covenant when it was launched in 2013 and has led the way as a forces-friendly business through a raft of socially responsible initiatives aimed at improving the lives of the armed forces community, including serving personnel, veterans, reservists and families.
To apply for the jobs visit: www.edwardscoaches.co.uk