Supporting Ryan Hepburn on his resettlement journey
Category: Success Stories
Publish date: 30/09/2022
Ryan left the Royal Engineers after serving for more than 10 years, gaining a wealth of experience across a number of construction disciplines. Unfortunately, a medical discharge resulted in Ryan having to leave the Armed Forces, which is where CTP stepped in with resettlement support:
“I became a Field Engineer and deployed abroad on exercises and operations… I gained a lot of experience in different construction related disciplines, before training to become a high risk search operative.
"Unfortunately I suffered a shoulder injury which meant that I was no longer capable of continued Service and received a medical discharge. Whilst recovering from injury and awaiting discharge, I was tasked with managing the technical stores and inventory for my unit where I also learnt new skills in health & safety and inventory management – inciting my interest in H&S.”
Resettlement
Once registered for his support, Ryan attended a 3-day Career Transition Workshop (CTW) and undertook the NEBOSH General Certificate and NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Health and Safety training courses, facilitated by the CTP – ensuring Ryan possessed all the necessary accreditation to pursue employment within his chosen profession:
“I found the CTW extremely useful. I had some ideas about what I wanted to do after leaving the Army… and the CTW helped me realise my potential and develop additional skills, including my CV writing and performance at interview. Other elements of the CTW helped me focus on what type of work-life balance I wanted by using the tools available through MyPlan!
"Both of my training courses were provided by the CTP. The training was tough and there was a lot to learn, but I worked hard to pass all exams first time around. The CTP trainers were ex-military and could match commercial examples to our experience, which made the learning far more relevant.”
Ryan also attended a Civilian Work Attachment to gain some additional experience in health & safety, and established a good working relationship with his Employment Consultant who provided expert support and guidance throughout his resettlement:
“CTP had an existing relationship with a local facilities management company in Belfast, and were able to arrange for me to attend a two-week work attachment with them. This provided me with real insight into the application of H&S in the commercial workplace, as well as an opportunity to utilise my new NEBOSH skills in the workplace.
"Louise delivered the CTW I attended and was always available to assist me during follow on meetings. I then met with my Employment Consultant, Alana, who gave me further guidance on using RightJob and helped me develop my CV to apply for local opportunities.”
Successful Outcome
Ryan is now a SHEQ Co-ordinator with Ibstock:
“I now co-ordinate Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality supervision on a daily basis. My planning and organisational skills developed throughout my time in the military have really helped me in-role, enabling me to deliver projects on time and to a high standard.
"I’ve also had to further develop my skills in coaching, persuasion and mentoring others in order to keep projects moving.”
Advice
As a final piece of advice to fellow Service leavers, Ryan says:
“Don’t worry about getting the perfect job upon leaving the Services. Any experience is a good opportunity to learn, and that experience will help you develop as a professional in whatever line of work you choose in the future.”
If you’d like to find out more about the wealth of training courses available through the CTP, please click here.