CTP Success: Ronnie Harley on his resettlement journey
Category: Success Stories
Publish date: 30/03/2020
Background
After 32 years in the British Army, Ronnie Harley reached a crossroads in his career on whether to remain, or try a new career in civilian life. With no more rungs of the career ladder left to climb, Ronnie decided he was ready for a new challenge and began his resettlement process with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP).
With no more rungs of the career ladder left to climb, and with his role being changed to something that no longer interested him, Ronnie decided to begin his resettlement process with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP).
Resettlement
Having registered for resettlement with the CTP, Ronnie attended a three day Career Transition Workshop (CTW). Whilst there, he learned how to create an effective CV and how to write an impactful cover letter. Ronnie found the exercise on tailoring his personal documentation to specific job specifications extremely useful, as it helped him understand how to translate his military skills into qualities that would appeal to civilian employers.
Following the CTW, Ronnie was introduced to his CTP Career Consultant who helped him review and fine-tune his CV and a handful of job applications. To further improve his chances of employment, Ronnie also attended a FAR (Financial Aspects of Resettlement) training course, as well as:
- L3 Award in Education and Training
- BOHS W501 Occupational Hygiene Course
- ISO 45001 Lead OHS Auditor
"Each of my courses were extremely well run and I thought they provided great value for money."
Even with a CTW and plenty of additional training under his belt, Ronnie didn’t stop there. He already had an SIA (Security Industry Authority) qualification, and decided to compliment this with some CTP provided safety related Civilian Work Attachments (CWA). These provided him with the extra skills and experience needed to make Ronnie really stand out to employers.
Finally, he made practical use of the CTP website and accompanying resources (RightJob and MyPlan).
"I used CTP online resources in tandem with other resources to make applications and found that they helped me organise my skills, thinking and planning."
Outcome
After doing everything in his power to make himself as desirable as possible to the commercial world, Ronnie secured a position as the Director of Safety with HMNB Portsmouth.
With all his personal documentation in order thanks to the support of his Career Consultant, Ronnie applied for the role via the Civil Service Portal. The interview was a 3-person panel who focussed on competency-based questions. After careful thought and consideration, and with 3 job offers on the table, Ronnie chose the position with HMNB.
He is now the Director of Safety for one of three Royal Navy bases, answering to the Naval Base Commander. He has a team of SMEs, all of whom report to him via a C1 Grade Civil Servant. Ronnie advises the Commander on strategies to ensure safe operation of the base, as well as what safety protocols should be considered by high level management during planning.
When asked about which aspects of his resettlement training he found useful in his new job, Ronnie answered simply – “all of it.”
Advice
Having recently started in his new position, Ronnie took the time to give this advice to other Service leavers:
"Go into resettlement with an open mind and be prepared to think very hard about what you want. Decide on a practical approach to help achieve this goal and then go and get it."