REDDITCH-BASED Halfords has filled nearly a quarter of its vacancies after signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant.
Ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday (June 29), the Icknield Street Drive firm revealed that since February it has interviewed 320 ex-services personnel and reservists, through its Guaranteed Interviews pledge, and employed 43 new colleagues in roles in its shops, autocentres and cycle republic stores all over the UK.
When it signed the covenant, Halfords made a number of pledges to support service leavers and veterans, helping them access training and careers across the company.
One of those pledges was to offer ex-forces personnel and reservists a guaranteed interview for any Halfords Group role, provided they met the minimum job requirements.
The initiative, launched jointly with the Ministry of Defence four months ago, has resulted in ex-armed forces personnel and reservists filling nearly a quarter of the 200 full and part-time vacancies in the business.
Graham Stapleton, CEO for Halfords Group, said: “We are really proud to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant to help people leaving the services find new careers and gain training with Halfords Retail and Autocentres.”
