Forces: Ex-Army
Nick N - Captain
“Do not look at your resettlement as something that is restricted to your last two years. Regard it as part of your CPD and take every opportunity to undergo training or development throughout your career.”
Background
Nick N served for 25 years in the Army, in the role of Garrison Engineer. Seeking fresh challenges, he left the military in July 2011, and had by this time already made plans to emigrate to New Zealand. With this in mind, Nick carried out training throughout his time in the Army which ensured he was prepared for the transition into the civilian job market upon leaving. Nick completed a Clerk of Works course (HND), which he says is a “very good foundation, and once backed by experience an excellent qualification.” He also gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, along with self-funded qualifications including a BEng (Hons) Electrical Engineering and MSc Power Systems.
Resettlement
As part of his resettlement, Nick attended a Career Transition Workshop (CTW) at RRC Cottesmore, which he found particularly useful in “focussing my thinking on the tasks ahead” and assisting with CV development. He says that the workshop also helped with “realising there are others doing the same thing, and drawing on their experiences”.
With his background in Electrical Engineering, Nick had always planned to develop his civilian career in this field, and advises others to devote time to assessing their military skills: “spend some time mapping your skills to a suitable matrix. If you are looking at Engineering use the Engineering Council’s competency table, if Management then the Institute of Managers’. In short, find an institution that supports the field you want to go into and look at their competency tables, and then match your military skills to them.” Nick recognises the fact that civilian employers may not be familiar with military terminology and therefore stresses the importance of making an accessible CV which illustrates to the employer how these skills can be utilised in the civilian world.
Nick did not undertake any further resettlement training, as he felt that the training completed during his military career stood him in good stead; he says “do not look at your resettlement as something that is restricted to your last two years. Regard it as part of your CPD and take every opportunity to undergo training or development throughout your career.” Nick therefore used his resettlement leave to emigrate to New Zealand, where he planned to seek employment.
Outcome
Through the use of a specialist recruitment consultant, Nick was able to secure his current role as Senior Project Manager for Vector, a multi-network infrastructure company which owns and operates a range of energy and technology businesses and assets. Nick is based in Auckland, and the role involves programme and project management of large electrical infrastructure projects in and around the city.
When asked about any obstacles faced in his new role, Richard says that “my experience was not readily understood by my new employer; they had little experience of the UK military”, again emphasising the importance for Service leavers of being able to transfer their military experience and explain this to civilian employers. He encourages others to have confidence in the skills they can bring to a role and says, “do not underestimate the value of the ‘core values’ that have governed your life in the military”.
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