We are proud to announce that Wellingtone has been awarded the Silver Award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), recognising our active and growing commitment to the Armed Forces community.
This is a milestone that means a great deal to us, and one that reflects the work of our whole team to genuinely live out the values of the Armed Forces Covenant.
What is the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme?
The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme encourages employers across the UK to support defence and inspire others to do the same. It recognises private and public sector organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support for the Armed Forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
The scheme runs across three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Achieving Silver is a formal recognition that an employer has demonstrated tangible, active support for service personnel, veterans, reservists, and their families.
What the Silver Award Means for Wellingtone
For Wellingtone, this award is not simply a badge. It reflects a genuine belief that the skills, discipline, and leadership qualities people develop in the military make them outstanding project management professionals.
As a project management consultancy and training provider, we have seen first-hand how veterans bring exceptional qualities to the profession: adaptability, decisiveness, the ability to lead teams under pressure, and a results-focused mindset perfectly suited to delivering projects on time and to scope.
How We Support the Armed Forces Community
Wellingtone's commitment to the Armed Forces community is built on tangible activity, not policy statements. Below is a summary of what we actively do.
| How we support | What this means |
|---|---|
| Free online events | Regular online webinars covering project management as a career for service leavers, military spouses, qualification options, resettlement tips, and translating military experience into civilian terminology. Open to anyone in the Armed Forces community, free of charge. |
| Resettlement career fairs | The Wellingtone team attend resettlement career events across the country, speaking directly with service leavers and military spouses about their options and next steps. |
| APM PFQ course for service leavers | A military-exclusive, discounted APM Project Fundamentals Qualification course, contextualised entirely around military life and fundable through resettlement entitlements. |
| Project STARS | A fully funded employability programme for military spouses, covering APM PFQ training, employability skills and a six-day work placement. Delivered in partnership with REME Charity, Morson Group and VIVO Defence. |
| The Wellingtone Community | Our LinkedIn-hosted community, open to all Wellingtone delegates, runs a minimum of two free learning and sharing events every month. For service leavers it is a practical tool for building a professional network in the project management industry. |
| Military PFQ Alumni | Graduates of the military PFQ course are invited into a dedicated alumni community, keeping ex-forces professionals connected after the course. |
| One-to-one career support | Simon Parsons is available via LinkedIn for pre-course conversations, career guidance and qualification advice, drawing on his own resettlement experience. |
The People Behind Our Armed Forces Commitment
Our journey with the Armed Forces Covenant began when we signed the Covenant and achieved Bronze. From there, the ambition was clear: to build something meaningful and progress through Silver towards Gold.
Much of the drive behind this comes from within our own team. Simon Parsons, Principal Project Management Consultant at Wellingtone, served 25 years as an aircraft engineer in the Army Air Corps before leaving the military four years ago. He joined Wellingtone with a personal mission: to pay back the support he received during his own resettlement by helping others do the same. He is also a serving Reservist Officer.
Service leavers make exceptional Project Managers because they thrive in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environments. They are Mission-focused, can learn new things quickly and are able to adapt and overcome the toughest of challenges to deliver project success…
…Who wouldn't want talent like this in their business
Simon designed the military-exclusive APM PFQ course, leads our resettlement webinar series, and represents Wellingtone at career fairs across the country.
Vince Hines, our Managing Director, has championed Wellingtone's Armed Forces commitment from the top, including ensuring the PFQ course is priced to be genuinely accessible to service leavers with a £500 Forces discount built in.
Supporting the Armed Forces community is not a corporate initiative for us. It comes from a genuine belief that the people who serve this country deserve the same energy and commitment in return. I am proud of what the team has built, and prouder still of where we are headed.
Vince Hines, Managing Director – Wellingtone
The APM PFQ Course for Military Service Leavers
One of the most practical ways Wellingtone delivers on its commitment to the Armed Forces community is through our APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) course, designed exclusively for Armed Forces service leavers.
This is not a generic course with a few military references bolted on. It has been built from the ground up by Simon Parsons, contextualising every exercise, discussion and example around military life. Your own resettlement is used as a live project example throughout the two days, giving the learning immediate, personal relevance.
APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) for service leavers course at a glance
| Course | Course Details and Information |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Any Armed Forces service leaver, whether currently serving, in resettlement, or recently transitioned |
| Duration | 2 days of content delivered across 3 days (to allow travel), plus pre-course work |
| Qualification | APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ), RQF Level 3 |
| Exam | 60-question multiple choice, 1 hour, 60% pass mark (36/60 correct) |
| Cost | £750 including VAT (Forces discount of £500 vs civilian equivalent) |
| Typical personal cost | As little as £41 when using Individual Resettlement Training Costs (IRTC) Grant and Standard Learning Credits (SLC) combined |
| Funding options | Individual Resettlement Training Costs (IRTC)
Standard Learning Credits (SLC) Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) |
| Location | Typically Chippenham, Wiltshire; also available remotely |
| Trainer | Simon Parsons, 25-year veteran and serving Reservist Officer |
| Civilians on the course? | No. This course is exclusively for service leavers |
Project STARS: Supporting Military Spouses into Project Management
Supporting service leavers is only part of the picture. We also recognise that military spouses are often the unsung heroes of service life, managing households, relocating every two to three years, and adapting constantly to the demands of military life. All of that takes skills that translate directly into project management.
Project STARS (Spouse Talent Acceleration and Readiness Scheme) is a fully funded employability programme designed to help REME military spouses build a career in project management. The programme covers:
- Fully funded APM PFQ training
- Employability skills support including CV writing, LinkedIn, and interview preparation
- A six-day structured work placement with a host business
The pilot is being delivered by four partners: Wellingtone, REME Charity and RAJA, Morson Group and VIVO Defence. Delivery locations for this initial pilot are Lyneham and Tidworth.
This programme is currently exclusively for REME spouses as part of this funded pilot. If it is of interest, the entry point is through the REME Charity landing page rather than the Wellingtone website. Click here for more information.
What Comes Next?
Achieving Silver is a proud moment, but it is not our destination. We are committed to continuing to build our support for the Armed Forces community and to working towards the Gold Award.
If you are a service leaver, veteran, or military spouse considering a career in project management, we would love to hear from you. Join the Wellingtone community, attend one of our free webinars, or get in touch directly to explore how we can support your next steps.
Together, we can help you learn, share and grow.
