Despatches - March 08

Fibre cabling to the home is now happening in the UK

Fibre cable has for several years been used extensively in commercial premises; but now it is starting to be used for domestic installations as well. ‘If the UK fails to offer the same bandwidth as other countries, the pace of innovation in the economy could slow and the digital divide could widen,’ according to the Broadband Stakeholders Group.

The first use of fibre to the home in the UK is a new development at EbbsfleetValley in Kent, where each home will enjoy multiple fibre connections. There are also local government initiatives where fibre is being considered as a key component for the rollout of broadband services.

We need fibre to the home or to any other premises because of the immense impact this it has on the way we live our lives and conduct business. Just as we could not have imagined the extent of the effect of the internet on the way we do things and communicate, it is difficult to foresee how the deployment of fibre to the home or any other buildings will affect our whole way of life.

CTTS (See advertisement on page 23) has been providing training to Armed Forces personnel and commercial clients for many years in preparation for the push to fibre to the home in the UK. Such systems are already prevalent in Europe and further afield, and it is only a matter of time before there is a big surge in its provision in the UK.

The company says that: ‘The implications for Service leavers are that when domestic fibre cabling starts in earnest, the need for trained installation engineers will be huge. People with the foresight to acquire the skills now will be headhunted.

CTTS is a member of the Fibre To The Home Council Europe which reports that: ‘The number of FTTH subscribers (in Europe) exceeded one million in 2007.

Resettlement training at heights

Omega Solutions Group (OSG) work for a large number of telecommunications companies; with customers including household names likeVodafone, T-Mobile, O2 and Siemens. They source many of their telecoms engineers through their PASSPORT resettlement course (not to be confused with the e-skills passport – Editor) and recently reviewed and revalidated their range of courses.

Marc Walsh left the Army in June 2007 and completed the PASSPORT course with flying colours. ‘Leaving the Army after five years was very daunting but this course has made me a lot more confident and has shown all the opportunities available. I gained the qualifications I needed to actually undertake the job and had many opportunities to go out and get some real on the job experience. I found my military experience valuable throughout. This is what separates this course from others available to Service leavers like me. This course has given me the knowledge and experience that I need to actually get out there and start earning money. I would fully recommend this course to any Service leaver thinking of working in telecoms.’

For more information, see the advert on page 22 or visit www.osg9.com.

Painting manual

Ex-Corporal Michael Manuel left the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 2003 after a 14-year career in which the reconnaissance specialist completed operational tours in Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Bosnia. A knee injury and a desire to spend more time with his family were the principal reasons for leaving while, as an employer, he now values the discipline and leadership skills that he developed in the Army.

He attended a Career Transition Workshop and a basic paint spraying course with Smart Wise, before taking ‘some driving work to keep some money coming in while I set up my business’. For the last three years, Manuel has been running Paint My Ride – a motorbike and car refinishing business that specialises in standard and custom paintwork, airbrushing, art and repairs, to all makes and models, including helmets.

‘We also teach people by running a course in this field and helping them into the business. I like to see the look on a customer’s face when he sees his custom paint masterpiece for the first time.’ He reports ‘less routine in my current job; every day is different. I need to make my own structure now and I find life more stressful as it’s easy to take the Army for granted on how well they look after you. However, I get more freedom and have the ability to plan ahead. I now earn triple my Army salary, but spend it quicker as there is more to pay out for.’

Blasting a new career in mine action

The United Nations estimates that there are up to 100 million landmines in the ground globally. Around 90 countries have problems with landmines and unexploded ordnance; 70 of these countries have registered new victims since 2002. Landmines are indiscriminate and are designed to maim not kill. They cause between 15,000 and 20,000 new casualties each year. That means 1,500 new casualties each month, more than 40 a day, and at least 2 new casualties every hour. About half of them are children. These figures do not include people killed or injured by unexploded ordnance and many deaths and injuries go unreported as they occur in remote areas.

It costs between $3 and $5 to manufacture a landmine but up to $1,000 to clear one. There is a real need for motivated individuals in mine removal; people with good man management skills and who are able to think outside the box.

The Mines Awareness Trust (MAT) (See advertisement on page 72) in partnership with the UK Army and Kenyan Army’s International Mine Action Training Centre (IMATC), based in NairobiKenya, runs courses to qualify successful candidates to work in the mine action industry. Courses last four weeks and introduce and then qualify people wishing to work in the mine action sector. Instructors are former British Army Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal School (DEODS) instructors, who are supported by British and Kenyan military instructors.

Salaries in the sector are very competitive, with opportunities for project and programme management positions also being extensive for the right candidates. Courses are seen as a place to recruit new staff for both non-governmental and commercial organisations. People wishing to enter the security industry are also taking MAT courses to enhance their CVs.

For more information and an information pack contact MAT by e-mail at info@minesawareness.org , phone 01481 233780 or fax: 01481 239337.

Hands on at Bluescreen

Many companies supply IT training, some use simulations. The method in use at BluescreenIT (see the advertisement on page 16) is hands on training. ‘When people leave the Armed Forces,’ say the company, ‘they often need new skills. Imagine you are retraining as a mechanic or carpenter, and you turn up for your first day only to be told that “on this computer is your simulated engine or piece of wood.” This might seem very strange, and there is no good reason why IT training should be any different.’

If studying for Cisco they believe people should work on real routers and switches, while Microsoft training should include real clients and servers. Their training includes technologies from many different environments. ‘With simulations everything works how it’s meant to, first time with no problems. In the real world this rarely happens.

‘When you are employed you will be expected to troubleshoot complex networking problems in large enterprise networks. You may have a piece of paper which states you are MCSE, but may not have experienced real network environments. Experience gained in hands on training provides confidence and knowledge that comes with using computers in a wide variety of situations and knowing how to troubleshoot issues.’

Whether students are resettling from the military, retraining for a career change or furthering their IT employment possibilities, BluescreenIT promise to ‘ensure that you are armed with real world knowledge, gained from hands on training.’