Diving - Case studies

Alistair Thursby

From Koh Tao in Thailand, ex-Royal Logistic Corps Lance Corporal Alistair Thursby reports on his transition from the Army, after seven years in uniform, to becoming a diving instructor at the other end of the world. Amongst ‘leadership, the necessity of working hard to achieve results and teamwork,’ that he developed during his service, he qualified as a BSAC Ocean Diver.

Leaving for ‘a change of lifestyle,’ he took a PADI Instructor Development Course with EBO Activities that he found ‘excellent, very professional and supportive. EBO Activities put me in touch with the right contacts out in Thailand.’

As a PADI Open Water Instructor with six months’ experience, Thursby trains Open Water students and leads fun dives in Koh Tao along with his supervisory responsibilities within the dive school. ‘I am out in the fresh air and meet new people every day. I am also building up more qualifications all the time. There is good team spirit and job satisfaction. There are also management responsibilities.

‘The pace of life is slower out here and the climate and culture are completely different. The cost of living is so much lower in Thailand and the salary is not that much different so I am much better off.’

Published Sept 07

Jim Sheppard

Able Seaman Jim Sheppard, a weapons armourer, left the Royal Navy in the early 1970s after 11 years in the UK, Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean and West Indies. Now aged 62, he looks back on a career as a ships diver that started his road to his present job as Underwater Programme Manager with TWI.

He took the equivalent of a Career Transition Workshop, which was useful, before undertaking training with Rosyth Dockyard civilian divers. His first job was as a Standard Diver working for a Salvage Company, which he found through writing letters to a number of potential employers.

Sheppard has been in his current job for some 13 years and is responsible for underwater training and exam programmes. As such he is a diving inspector who oversees course technical development, finds new business, organises courses, manages customer satisfaction and ensures compliance with regulations.

He enjoys ‘providing a quality service, dealing daily with staff and customers, working within a team in a culture similar to that encountered in the Services.’ Increased responsibility requires him to ‘operate within the financial constraints of a budget and financial targets, deal with bureaucracy, and manage restrictive work practices due to political correctness.’ Salary comparisons are pointless due to the length of time since he left the Navy, but he is enjoying a much more senior position.

Published December 2007

Bruce Carruthers

Sergeant Bruce Carruthers served for over 20 years in the Royal Artillery as a transport manager. His career included postings around the world, including Germany, Canada, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. As he approached its end he researched civilian career options and decided to become a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) pilot technician.

ROV pilots work inshore and offshore to operate and maintain their ROVs, often under challenging conditions. Tasks include subsea inspection, diver observations and maintenance. Most ROV pilots are employed offshore in the global oil and gas industry. The Underwater Centre in Fort William, Scotland and reports that he loves his new job which is ‘very similar to Army life – teamwork, adapting, improvising and overcoming problems.’ He values his training because ‘it is impossible to teach you everything in such a short period of time but they give the base knowledge to move forward and absorb as much information as humanly possible.’ He believes that it is important to: ‘Admit that you can never have all the answers but there are people out there who are always willing to help. I am blessed with this life style.’

He is currently on board a small 20 metre boat doing a route survey in the Red Sea. ‘If I wanted I could work 365 days of the year.’

Published June 2008

Ian Hickman

When Ian Hickman left the Army 18 months ago after 22 years' service, he thought that his main transferable skills would be 'experience of designing, planning, organising and delivering training.' Following a Career Transition Workshop which was 'very useful for CV writing and the interview process', he took a Level 3 CIPD certificate (at his own expense because the resettlement course booked at Salisbury College was cancelled at short notice).

His service as a Royal Engineers communications specialist had taken him all over the world and he had become experienced in the management of people and material resources to support the task in hand. Despite his belief that his future lay in training, an advertisement led to an interview and a job as Operations Co-ordinator with The Homesafe Group PLC. Hickman manages 'the workload of 10 installation teams of residential and commercial fire sprinkler systems.'

'I have to liaise with clients to confirm when they want us on site and what they want us to complete. I also have to ensure that the correct resources are available. I did the same thing in the Royal Engineers but it is much more intense in a business. With over 150 projects at the same time, the work is constant.'

He enjoys the hours, variety of responsibilities and good working conditions; dislikes include paperwork. He also enjoys fixed working hours and no external commitments; and finds that his current rate of pay equates to his Army salary once the pension is taken into account.

Published September 2008