University of Portsmouth renews Armed Forces Covenant at a special signing event

Naval Base Commander, Commodore John Voyce, left, signing the covenant with Professor Graham Galbraith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth

The Armed Forces Covenant is a national scheme to encourage organisations to publicly pledge their support for serving armed forces personnel, veterans and military families.

The University’s commitment includes supporting the employment of veterans and their families, and allowing appropriate flexibility for those who serve in the Reserve Forces.

By signing the Covenant, the University commits to uphold its key principles, namely that:

*No member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen, and;

*In some circumstances, special treatment may be appropriate – especially for the injured or bereaved.

Professor Graham Galbraith, University of Portsmouth Vice-Chancellor, said: ‘As home to the Royal Navy, it was important to us that Portsmouth was one of the first universities to sign an Armed Forces Covenant in 2016.

‘The renewal of this pledge confirms our ongoing commitment to this partnership, including plans to grow and support our network of veterans, reservists and military families.

‘It is our ambition to become one of the UK’s leading civic universities and supporting the armed forces community will help us achieve this.’

The University does a wide range of work to support military service families, including:

*British Army soldiers studying leadership and management degree apprenticeships;

*The £3,000 a year Greenwich Hospital Bursary for children of serving or retired Royal Navy or Royal Marine personnel, or for those who are Royal Navy veterans;

*Sharing local veterans’ personal experiences through drama and performance, via the Veterans Project;

*Creative Forces Days, where groups of service children in primary and secondary schools visit the University to get a feel for what university study is really like and messaging around future career pathways;

*Partners in the Service Children’s Progression Alliance, which is focused on improving the educational outcomes of children from military families.

The signing took place ahead of the 2023 Armed Forces Day, which was held on Saturday.