Freya Church delivers keynote at the Defence ERS Gold Awards 2026

Our Head of Social Value, Freya Church, delivered the keynote speech at the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Awards 2026, held at HMS Cambria. Invited by RFCA for Wales, Freya spoke about what social value means in construction and how that work led R&M Williams to the ERS Gold Award, which we received this year as one of only eight employers in Wales.

Thank you to RFCA for Wales for the invitation, and to everyone who joined us at HMS Cambria. We hope you enjoyed the occasion.

What social value means to us

Freya described social value simply: the difference a contract makes beyond the building itself. Who gets the jobs, who gets trained, which local groups benefit, and what happens to the waste.

Public sector clients now score social value in tenders, but for us it started long before that. As Freya put it: “When you work in people’s homes, schools and streets, you have a responsibility to leave more behind than a finished job.”

Construction also has a skills shortage, and that is where the Armed Forces community comes in.

Our journey to Gold

→ 2023: signed the Armed Forces Covenant

→ 2024: ERS Silver Award

→ 2026: ERS Gold Award

Gold asks for more than a pledge. Employers have to show that they actively support the Armed Forces community and encourage others to do the same. For us, the award recognises work we were already doing. It was never the aim in itself.

Support that goes beyond the badge

Freya set out three areas of work that sit behind the award.

Recruiting service leavers. We actively look to the Armed Forces community when we hire, and give service leavers a route onto site and then into a trade.

Valley Veterans. We work in partnership with Valley Veterans in Ton Pentre. When eight trees on our project in Portishead were destined for landfill, we relocated them to Valley Veterans instead.

Veterans’ accommodation. On our veterans’ accommodation work, our supply chain partners gave their time and materials alongside us.

Our People films

We wanted to tell these stories properly, in people’s own words, so we filmed a series of interviews with our own staff, including ex-service personnel.

Jake joined the Army at 16 and served six years with the Royal Welsh. When he left, the hardest part was finding work, because infantry skills don’t translate neatly onto an application form. He joined us as a labourer, found fire stopping, and is now working towards his NVQ in passive fire protection.

A service leaver weighing up construction will listen to Jake far more than to a company brochure. When we asked his advice for anyone leaving the forces, his answer was short: “Go straight for it.”

Why we deliver it

Freya closed with the reason behind all of it: “Social value in construction is about the people a project leaves behind. The Gold Award recognises what we have done so far, and we intend to keep building on it.”

If you employ, train or support service leavers and would like to work with us, contact Freya at freya.church@rmwgroup.co.uk.

Find out more at https://rmwgroup.co.uk/commitments/social-value/