Computing & IT

Name: Peter Langford

Rank on Exit: WO

Peter GrangerYears of Service: 38 Years...

Qualifications Gained: O-level English Language and Computer Studies

WO Peter Langford served in the RAF for almost 38 years, specialising as a TG12 Aerospace Systems Manager and leaving in September 2009. Asked about the training/experience he gained during his Service career that he now finds useful in civilian life, he says ‘Although my trade qualifications do not transfer over to civilian IT roles, discipline, reliability, attention to detail, standards, resourcefulness, a can-do attitude and enthusiasm have all proven useful in my new civilian life. My trade started to use desktop computers in the early 1980s, which sparked my interest in IT.’

Civilian qualifications obtained during his Service career included: O-level English Language and Computer Studies; CLAIT; ECDL; City & Guilds IT Diploma in Computer Applications; IOSH Health & Safety – Managing Safely; IOSH RAF Risk Assessor and MCGI in Leadership. During his Resettlement training, he added Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician, CompTIA A+ Certified Technician and CompTIA Network+ Certified Technician Management. He also attended courses for Installing, Configuring and Administering Windows XP Professional; Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment; and Implementing, Maintaining and Managing a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure.

His first civilian job on leaving the Forces was as a 1st Line Service Desk Technician with Prolinx Ltd at RAF Coningsby, secured via a job advertisement, application and three interviews. He is currently working as a Hardware Support Technician with Prolinx Ltd at RAF Coningsby. This involved working as an ‘IT service desk technician assisting users for 16 months until the service desk was relocated within the UK; I have now been re-roled as a hardware support technician resolving hardware and peripheral faults on the Ash Forest network with occasional server installations at other locations.

‘I like interacting with the users and the satisfaction of resolving their issues. I also enjoy the manipulation of data to a productive resolution and the opportunities to learn more about a hugely complicated subject. I prefer to be busy so I dislike sitting around waiting for something to go wrong!’

Asked about the major differences between his Service role and his current job, he responds: ‘In Service life, behind each person is a very large net of various trades and branches that train, guide and advise you in order to get the job done and deal with the various issues that arise throughout your career. In civilian life, that net does not exist and you may have to fight hard to get what you need to get the job done. Training is hard to come by while the recession bites hard, and companies are redirecting their finances to other areas in a very competitive market. In the military, there is also a huge wealth of information that comes in many formats from a multitude of directions to enable you to do your job. In civilian life, information arrives at a vastly slower rate, mainly due to the complexities of commercial contracts and the “need to know” basis until signatures are obtained.

‘During transition from the military into my second career, I moved from a managerial, office-based role into a skilled worker role due to my choice of job. My RAF trade was not a technical IT role so I had to start my IT career on the first rung of the ladder in order to gain knowledge and experience in order to progress.’

Published ...December 2011

Name: Peter Granger

Rank on Exit: Leading Hand

Peter GrangerYears of Service: 14 Years...

Qualifications Gained: C&G 1, 2 and 3 in Electronic Craft Studies

Leading Hand Peter Granger, 40, served in the Royal Navy for just over 14 years, specialising in weapons engineering and leaving in May 2001. Asked about any civilian qualifications obtained during his Service career he lists City & Guilds parts 1, 2 and 3 in Electrical and Electronic Craft Studies. He found his CTW useful as ‘it taught me CV writing and interview experience’. During resettlement, he also undertook a cabling course (copper and fibre optic) with CNet Training. The course was, he says, ‘very useful and the skills I learned have helped me in my new career’.

Now working as a shift manager at Thomson Reuter’s Data Centre in Canary Wharf, London, he says that his work involves ‘the daily management of shift controllers looking after the data centre infrastructure and over 100,000 devices. I am also the escalation point for any cabling faults we are asked to investigate, and control of access to the computer room floor for all employees and third-party contractors.

‘I enjoy running a team of highly skilled individuals and knowing I am responsible for the data centre of a large multinational company. However, I am disappointed that there is no more travel around the world paid for by Her Majesty’s government!’

Asked about the similarities between his Service role and his current job, he responds: ‘The only similarities now are the management responsibilities – knowing how to lead a team.’ As for differences, ‘My Naval job was much more “hands on”, with a lot less paperwork to fill out. I am now more of an escalation point for issues and rarely have to do any cabling or engineering work. My new role is very much process-driven, with each job being accountable and tracked via change control. Budgetary issues also affect the work we do and tools we use. We did not have so many restrictions in the Navy.’

In terms of salary, things sound pretty positive: ‘I am earning a lot more than I was when I left the Navy ten years ago – about twice my leaving wage!’

Published ...December 2011

Name: Simon Short

Rank on Exit: Sgt

Years of Service: 22 years

Qualifications Gained: Eng Tech EL (Ex TG3)

In April 2009, after 22 years’ Service, Sgt Simon Short left the RAF, having specialised as an Eng Tech EL (Ex TG3), as he ‘wanted to explore other avenues – at 42, I felt I had another career ahead of me’. Asked whether he finds the training and experience gained during his Service career useful in civilian life, he replies, ‘Much of the generic training and experience can be transferred – as long as you know how to market it.’

His CTW ‘nicely laid the foundations on how the job market operates, and gave an idea of what to expect when leaving the Services’. However, he found it ‘targeted towards Service leavers who want to become an employee rather than self-employed.’ He adds, though, ‘I understand that there are additional CTW-type courses that are geared towards running your own business.

‘My plan was enter into IT consulting as an independent – and that means setting up your own limited company and finding your own contracts.’ His first (and current) job – as a self-employed business intelligence consultant, with his own company, Templr Ltd – was instead found through ‘networking, hard work and self-belief’.

‘It took me three months, nine interviews, four false starts (and promised funds) and lots of lessons learned before everything came together and I landed my first contract. When I did, it was fantastic! Receiving the official paperwork back from Companies House with my name as the director of my own company was the icing on the cake – it made all the hard work worth while.’

Running your own business means ‘you need to keep one eye on the detail, while the other scans the horizon for potential opportunities and risks. You need to be on top of your game, able to deliver results and demonstrate value to the client at all times. With no job security, no boss and no support structure, you need to remain focused on your long-term goals.’

There are differences in salary, too: ‘As a one-man band you are in sole control of the overall health of company finances. With no holiday pay, no sick pay and no pension contributions, you need to plan for the worst and make sure all bases are covered. You need to keep a close eye on the bottom line.’

Despite this, he is keen to highlight the positives: ‘Working for yourself is fantastic. It allows you to be in total control of your future direction; and having that level of autonomy inspires you to look ahead and plan for the future.’

Published ...September 2011

Name: Dan Skilton

Rank on Exit: Corporal

Years of Service: 32 years

Qualifications Gained: PRINCE2 Practitioner

Having served in the RAF for 11 years – in locations such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands – specialising as a Supplier (Logistics), Dan Skilton, 32, left the Service as a Corporal in January 2010, to ‘spend more time with my family’.

When asked what civilian qualifications he attained while serving, he replies, ‘Many – I started with a GCSE maths course, moving on to the specific field I wanted to work in: IT service management. Within this area I have gained (ITIL) foundation (v2 and v3), four different practitioners’ courses, the management level qualification, ISO9001 QMS auditor and PRINCE2 Practitioner.’ Aside from these qualifications, he confirms that ‘Nearly all my military experience has been valuable within civilian life. The Forces ‘can do’ attitude is a fantastic selling point to prospective employers, and this, coupled with the determination and commitment that every member of the Forces shows on a daily basis, stands every Service leaver in good stead for employment.’

His CTW was ‘very useful. It gave me the opportunity to ask questions covering all the “issues” I had concerns about, and helped me produce and tailor a sound CV while speaking to an expert in the field that I wanted to work in.’

He found his first and current job as a Business Process Tester with a European company called Steria Ltd, by networking: ‘I made it my personal mission during my final year of Service to interact with as many people that worked in civilian IT service management as I could. This included visiting the larger companies and cold-calling, speaking to people on the same civilian courses and a lot of time on internet job sites. I informed everyone that I was due to start my terminal leave in December, and received a phone call at the end of November from an old colleague who had heard I was leaving the RAF and he asked if I would come in for an interview. I was offered the job the day after!’

His job involves ‘working on a restricted MoD project. I test the functionality and provide detailed “business” knowledge for the development of an advanced inventory management system that will shortly be released to all three Services. My background in logistics and using a similar system ideally suited me to this role.

‘I enjoy working within reasonable travelling distance of my home, and a lot of my colleagues are ex-military, which made for an easier transition into civilian working life. The job also offers a fantastic insight into the “commercial” world and gives me further opportunity to enhance my skills.

‘Of course, there are deadlines and targets to be achieved within this workplace, but the pressure isn’t as great as in the Forces’ – and the pay’s not bad either: ‘From my previous rank to this position is an increase of approximately £40,000 per year.’

Published ...September 2010

Name: Nigel Williamson

Rank on Exit: Staff Sergeant

Years of Service: 26 years

Qualifications Gained: CCNA and CCNP

Following 26 years in uniform, serving in locations such as the Balkans, Hong Kong and Kenya, SSgt Nigel Williamson left the Forces in January 2006 having specialised as a vehicle mechanic/ information systems engineer with REME and the Royal Signals. Of his Service career, he says ‘It has created chances and opportunities that I doubt would otherwise have been offered. I received robust training as a mechanical engineer and was then able to move into information systems engineering, allowing my long-time hobby of computer repair to become a full-time civilian career.’

He attended a CTW, which he says ‘provided some pointers on how to approach the civilian world’, as well as a six-week advanced IT training course with JBC Computer Training Ltd, Coventry, which he found ‘particularly well run and relevant – it covered a wide variety of IT disciplines. The course provided me with a platform from which I have since qualified in Cisco CCNA and CCNP, while also taking other industry and proprietary courses relevant to my job.’

His first, and current, civilian job is as a network analyst at Atlas (EADS), which he says ‘I joined directly after completing my resettlement training at JBC. This training provider fosters the individual’s ability to find work. It provided me with the tools, the time and the know-how to find a civilian IT job that was right for me, which is a valuable resettlement tool in itself.’

His job involves ‘network engineering – meaning I find solutions to IT problems, and ensure that IT processes are well maintained and the procedural documentation is correct. On a day-to-day basis I provide my knowledge and expertise to my work team and troubleshoot local IT issues. I also liaise with other specialist groups to develop future IT capabilities across the organisation.’

He concludes, ‘The style of leadership in civilian employment is different to that in the Services and takes some getting used to. There is more focus on the quick fix – I think they could learn from the military about planning for the longer term. Although I miss the comforts provided in the Services, I can now plan ahead to a far greater degree and provide personal stability for my family – and the salaries in IT are good!’

Published ...March 2010

Name: Chris Phillips

Rank on Exit: Sergeant

Years of Service: 22 years

Qualifications Gained: CLAIT, IBT, Dip (Crim), City&Guilds Comm skills

Following 22 years in uniform, serving in locations such as Bosnia, Jordan and New Zealand, Sergeant Chris Phillips left the Forces in 2007 in search of family stability and ‘keen to test myself in the outside environment’. Now working as forensic computer crime and network investigator within the Hi-Tech Crime Unit, South Wales Police, he had gained the following qualifications while still serving: CLAIT, IBT, Dip (Crim), City & Guilds Communication Skills, as well as taking a raft of health and safety courses (from Assessor to Management level). He found his Career Transition Workshop ‘excellent, as it helped me to understand the civilian marketplace, its needs and demands, and how to place and sell myself’. He also took resettlement courses in security management and obtained the NEBOSH General Certificate.

‘During my resettlement phase,’ he says, ‘I started working as a supervisor in an Approved Premises for Offenders. This was on a contracted-out, self-employed basis (initially through an agency). I was then offered a full-time position as a key working case manager within the organisation run by the Probation Service, a role that I left to take on my current job.’

His work with South Wales Police involves ‘investigation into network-based criminal activity, and forensic investigation of computers and other crime-related media; forensic retrieval and production of evidence for the judicial system; advice to police officers on the significance and tactical use of computer-related evidence; and attendance at court as an expert witness. The nature of computer crime is such that all major enquiries across the whole criminal spectrum involve some element of computer or related media. My previous career as a Royal Military Police Officer gave me the ideal investigational grounding for this role, although my job is highly specific and specialised to one area of the justice system.’

As for pay, ‘Initially,’ he says, ‘the police salary range is 25–33K, but with two years of increments and public salary increases, this has evened out against my last military salary. Pay in the private sector is considerably higher, with senior investigators and unit managers commanding salaries up to 70K. The private-sector career path sources the best investigators from the police service, and policing experience in this type of work is invaluable and highly desired within the industry.’

Published ...December 2009

Computing & IT - Case Studies