Google UK re-signs Armed Forces Covenant – launches new support scheme for military community

Google UK has this month re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant, renewing its commitment to champion the military community and announcing a new scheme of four weeks paid reservist leave to support UK Googlers with their military duties.

Since it first signed the covenant in 2015, Google has been recognised by The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (RES), awarded a silver award for demonstrating and advocating support of the defence community with programmes including:

• The Google Veterans Network, which provides a community for veterans, reservists, military family members and civilians to connect and share resources.
• The Grow with Google initiative, which offers a variety of training courses, certification programmes and qualifications to help military personnel through their career transition process, and ensure their skills are recognised across industry.

Phil Richardson, a Veteran and Google Cloud Customer Engineer explained:

“As a veteran and serving reservist, I’m incredibly proud and grateful to work at a company that champions the military community, and supports me to uphold my commitments — even when they take me far away from home.

“The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who serve or have served, alongside their families, are treated fairly — especially when it comes to public services like healthcare, education and housing. Google has been a staunch supporter of the covenant since it was first signed in 2015 and we’ve recently been recognised by The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (RES) for demonstrating and advocating for support of the defence community, achieving a silver award.

“Our alignment with the Armed Forces Covenant has helped us to look after the military community both inside and outside Google. Inside Google, one of our most popular programmes is the Google Veterans Network, which provides a community for veterans, reservists, military family members and civilians to connect and share resources. Outside of Google, we are proud to offer a variety of training courses, certification programmes and qualifications that can be achieved through our Grow with Google initiative. These programmes offer practical ways of directly helping military personnel through their career transition process ensuring that core transferable skills and talent are utilised and recognised across industry.

“These initiatives have provided myself, and my incredibly patient family, with the stability which has allowed me to continue to serve my country. Managers at Google, and the team I work with, have been particularly proactive and understanding whenever my military commitments take me away from home for long periods of time. This includes the time I have spent at sea on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for operational deployments.

“This moment is a major milestone for Google and for the UK Defence community, and reflects Google’s longtime support for veterans and military families. We are proud to support those who have served our country and we are committed to working with the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces to help them excel in their future endeavours.

“Google’s support of the military community is a continuation of its wider commitment to champion Googlers from all backgrounds and experiences. Through these initiatives and support networks, we’re helping to build an inclusive work environment that ensures people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to thrive.”

General Sir James (Jim) Hockenhull KBE ADC Gen, Commander of Strategic Command said:

“This re-signing of the Armed Forces Covenant demonstrates Google’s ongoing commitment to those who bravely serve our nation. The programmes and networks Google runs provide a strong sense of community for veterans, reservists, and their families.

“Our ex-serving military personnel and their families bring a wealth of skills and qualities that make them a fantastic asset to any organisation, and it is clear that Google recognises this and is dedicated to supporting them.

“We welcome this re-signing of the Covenant and are grateful for Google’s commitment to the Defence community and the UK.”