A place where veterans feel a sense of community: Travis Perkins plc and the Armed Forces

We recently caught up with one of our ex-forces colleagues, Gill McBride, a proud veteran and current Cash & Banking Team Leader. She shared how the inclusive and supportive culture at Travis Perkins plc gave her that ‘family feel’ she yearned for after leaving the army. 

We were the 1,500th organisation to sign the UK Armed Forces Covenant, a voluntary pledge which promises to treat those who serve or have served, and their families, fairly. Learn more about how we support veterans and Gill’s career journey: 

A sense of community at Travis Perkins plc

The transition from army life to civilian life can be a challenging one where veterans miss the camaraderie and strong sense of community that often leaves a lasting impact. At Travis Perkins plc, we understand the value of a tight-knit community and pride ourselves on creating a welcoming and family-like environment where veterans can feel a sense of belonging, which is where our Ex-forces colleague network comes in.

This network is striving to empower our veteran, reservists and cadet force volunteer communities, plus serving personnel and their families, both within and outside of our workforce.

Similarly to our other networks, we take a proactive stance by celebrating and supporting campaigns like Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day and Remembrance Sunday. 

Gill shares “If you want to work in an inclusive, open and honest environment where you are treated like a family member rather than an employee, and are encouraged to bring your full and best self to work…Apply!” 

In this role, she is responsible for effectively leading a team of Finance Analysts and Administrators in ensuring all branch banking and associated ledgers are reconciled on a daily/monthly basis.

“I love to help, so the best part of my day is when I can give a Branch advice or assistance on issues or difficulties they are facing or assist one of my team with a difficult reconciliation. I like that by helping our Branches we are better serving our customers together.”

Support from colleagues 

“Every day, our team check in with each other daily to make sure everyone is OK, working remotely means it’s not always easy to spot when someone is not themselves, so our team demonstrates that we care about each other by having regular welfare checks.”

We care at Travis Perkins plc and that means we look after each other's safety and well-being, treating people with respect and encouraging everyone to be themselves. 

Opportunities for development 

We are committed to supporting ex-forces and reservist colleagues through training and Gill was able to take advantage of this when she enrolled in one of our Apprenticeship programmes.

“I completed the Level 3 Managing a Team Apprenticeship in 2021. It involved all aspects of team management such as change management, dealing with difficult conversations or situations, project management and giving and receiving feedback.”

Your progression and development are a priority for us, as when you grow so does the business. We also work with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to support the employment of service leavers and veterans through events, mentoring, work experience, and placements. 

Why should you consider a career at Travis Perkins plc?

“The people! It’s not like coming to work when the people around you are so great. The work is interesting too, I have an inquisitive mind so I like the investigation and problem-solving element of my role. I also appreciate the community of ex-forces and reservist colleagues that I can share my experiences with.” 

We are committed to upholding the key principles of our Armed Forces Covenant and Gold Award pledges. Find a sense of community at Travis Perkins plc and explore our career opportunities. 

Read about how we have supported other ex-forces colleagues at Travis Perkins - David's story, Dan's story, Jake and Daniel's story.