Computing & IT - Case Studies

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!’

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.’

Rank on Exit: Lance Corporal

Years of Service: 6

Qualifications Gained: A+ certification, and Novell training with Amraf

 

Justin Broughton  Now aged 32, ex-Lance Corporal Justin Broughton left the Adjutant General’s Corps in 1998 after a sixyear career specialising in pay and personnel. He believes that his ‘accountancy background has stood me in good stead, I was using computers and left the Army at the right time for me.’ He held an RSA Accountancy qualification before attending a ‘very useful’ Career Transition Workshop followed by ‘well run’ A+ certification, and Novell training with Amraf.

 

‘One of the pieces of resettlement advice I was given was to aim as high as you can in the commercial world. Find the field that you would like to work in and the best companies in that field, and try to get an interview. I decided on Enterprise Computing and managed to secure an interview. The rest was down to luck and enthusiasm as I managed to secure a job with SAP UK; a business solutions provider.’

 

Broughton is now managing director of KeyFields Limited, another provider of IT services, responsible for ‘securing the working lives of staff whilst maintaining the company’s market position, driving forward new business and managing the associated risks.’ He enjoys ‘the freedom to target any area of business,’ but dislikes ‘the volume of business administration.’ He likens the military process to some ‘civilian work practices especially the various supply and demand roles,’ and enjoys a significant salary hike although he points out that this is not the case for everybody.