Forces: Army
Colm C - WO2
“The real life skills we learn over a military career are priceless. The ability to turn up to a job on time, dressed correctly, with the right attitude and to go the extra mile. These are skills that do not get taught they are instilled in the life of a soldier.”
Former Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Colm Craig served in the Army for 22
years, with his latest role as a Warrant Officer Communications and
Information Systems (WOCIS) for the HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ
ARRC) G3 Air Branch.
During his Service, he played hockey for the
Corps of Artillery gaining an Inter-Corps Champions Medal. Colm and his
wife were also keen supporters of the Sgts Mess and all Regimental
social events.
After completing his 22 years’ service in 2002,
Colm was put in touch with CTP to help him through his resettlement. He
attended a CTP Career Transition Workshop (CTW), mentioning, “I don’t
think it was as good as it is now, but I did learn how to structure a
CV, write covering letters and how to word military qualifications into
civilian speak.”
Colm also attended a JBC Computing course with
CTP, gaining A+ and N+, and went on to achieve a HNC in Computing
qualification with an external training provider.
With his new
computing qualifications, Colm accepted a job at Airwave, a new company
that supplied all emergency services with their communication systems.
He worked for Airwave for 11 years before taking voluntary redundancy.
Through
using LinkedIn as a networking platform, Colm saw an advertisement for a
Desk Support Analyst with the Metropolitan Police Service, and was
invited for an interview. The Metropolitan Police Service saw Colm’s
transferable military skills as an asset to their company. It was his
ability to multi-task and stay calm under pressure that helped him get
the role.
When asked what advice he would give to current Service leavers, Colm said,
“The
real life skills we learn over a military career are priceless. The
ability to turn up to a job on time, dressed correctly, with the right
attitude and to go the extra mile. These are skills that do not get
taught they are instilled in the life of a soldier.”
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