Supporting Phil Tonks on his resettlement journey
Category: Success Stories
Publish date: 04/10/2021
Background
Phil Tonks left the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in September 2021 after serving for 39 years. Having come to the end of his Service, Phil registered for resettlement support with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP).
Resettlement
Once registered with the CTP, Phil attended a 3-day Career Transition Workshop (CTW) among other CTP-provided and external training courses, ensuring he was in the best possible position to secure civilian employment:
"The whole CTW was really helpful. Especially the insight into working in the civilian jobs market that the facilitator brought to the day. I also undertook the FAR and Housing workshops, both of which provided lots of useful information for the future.
"PRINCE2, APMG Change Management, Agile PM and MoR (QA and Quanta) were the other vocational training courses I took in order to aid my overall resettlement."
When asked about attending a Civilian Work Attachment, and his relationship with his CTP Career Consultant, Phil goes on to say:
"Although I didn’t attend a CWA, I am on a work placement in the role I expect to fill in September of this year. It’s really helping with my transition, and so I can really see the value in a CWA.
"My Career Consultant provided a number of 1:1 meetings and was always on hand to check in on my progress."
Successful Outcome
Phil is now a Business Change Lead with Atkins Global on a work experience placement which is set to become a full-time role in September 2021.
"I found the role through networking with an old colleague. My time in the Army has helped me settle into my new role, where I ensure new equipment is properly integrated with military systems and used correctly."
Advice
As his closing words of advice to fellow Service leavers, Phil goes on to say:
"Network, network, network. Start your resettlement as early as possible. Work out what you want to do and where you want to do it. The former may be difficult, but try talking to a prospective employer about your skill-set and what they value. As for the latter, really think about where you want to live and how far you’re willing to travel.
"Create a LinkedIn profile and don’t be afraid to ask anyone for help/advice. You’ll be surprised how much your military service is recognised and valued in the civilian world."