Forces: Ex-RAF
John B - Wing Commander
"Have complete confidence that your skills, competencies and experiences are transferrable to the civilian sector. Do not be afraid to move to a new sector. Be bold and go for it."
John B left the RAF in early 2012, and felt that after 21 years, the time was right to move onto a new career and to take the opportunity to spend more time with his young family. John says that he thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of his service career, in particular ‘commanding others was always a privilege, overseas travel, adventurous training and the many challenges and diverse experiences that I enjoyed.’
As with many other Service leavers, the starting point for John’s resettlement was a three day Career Transition Workshop (CTW), which he attended at RRC Northolt. John says that he found the workshop extremely helpful, ‘particularly the interview practice and the advice on how to negotiate a good package.’
John was lucky enough to secure a job interview just two days after his CTW; he says, ‘I put the experience straight to practice – I got the job and negotiated a significant increase in my salary!’ John had found the vacancy advertised on a job-finding website, and now works as Business and Finance Director at the Farringdon Academy of Schools.
Upon seeing the job advert, John called the Head Teacher to introduce himself and then visited the school before submitting his successful application. The role see’s him working as Finance Director, HR Director, Facilities Manager and Business Development Manager for three schools in Farringdon.
Prior to starting the job, John also attended a one day Financial Aspects of Resettlement briefing, with advice from a qualified Financial Adviser and the Forces Pension Society. He also used his Graduated Resettlement Time (GRT) to undertake a Financial Management and Accounting course at the Resettlement Training Centre in Aldershot. He says that, ‘this was a crash course in accountancy and provided me with the confidence to start my new appointment. I was responsible for introducing a new accounting system for the academy and had to make this decision within the first few months of starting; the resettlement training certainly helped me to understand the language.’
John used his remaining GRT to complete an unpaid Civilian Work Attachment with his new employer, enabling him to start the role three weeks early. He says, ‘it provided an excellent means of inducting myself to the new environment. My new employer was also delighted with this arrangement!’ John says that starting the role was a steep learning curve, ‘but then Service personnel are used to this as we are posted every two years to new appointments.’
John faced challenges early on in the role, and led the conversion programme for the three schools to convert from Local Authority maintained status to a multi-academy trust. John has now been in the role for just over a year, and says that ‘the single best quality that most servicemen and women possess is the ability to simply get stuck-in and deliver. In my first annual appraisal, my new boss commented on how impressed he had been that I settled in so quickly, got stuck in and with very little guidance delivered what was asked of me.
The organisation is now negotiating with six other schools to expand the academy, and John is still learning. He says, ‘I draw on the many skills gained during my Service career on a daily basis, specifically my leadership and management training, communication skills and people skills.’
Finally, John advises other Service leavers going through the job-finding process to, ‘have complete confidence that your skills, competencies and experiences are transferrable to the civilian sector. Do not be afraid to move to a new sector. Be bold and go for it.’
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