Project Management

Name: Charles Dobson

Rank on Exit: Major

Years of Service: 18 Years

Qualifications Gained: Prince2 Practitioner (Project Management)

With over 18 years in the Forces behind him, Major Charles Dobson left the Army in 2006, having served in locations including the Falklands, Bosnia, Iraq, the USA and Afghanistan. He was ‘pensionable, and the infantry offered a voluntary redundancy package’.

He found his CTW ‘Extremely useful. It made me realise how much I had to achieve before I left in terms of preparation. It gave me a good benchmark; I had not really even thought about it, so it was a great shot over the bows.’

Now working as a proposal manager for ATCO Structures in Alberta, Canada, he finds of particular use ‘my staff, planning and briefing skills. A well-disciplined approach, strong work ethic, integrity and reliability are also highly useful skills that are well regarded by future employers. Man management and leadership skills are also important, and are well honed during a Forces career.’ Such qualities are complemented by his qualifications, which include Prince2 Practitioner (Project Management) and an Initial Management Diploma, taken with Bristol Management Centre.

Having married a Canadian, Charles decided to move there on retirement from the Forces, and started to develop a network there. His first job was with ATCO Structures as a project coordinator. ‘I was promoted after three months to project manager. My Prince2 Practitioner qualification assisted enormously, along with my Forces planning and project management background.’

A year ago, he became a proposal manager and is ‘responsible, among other things, for the proposal process by which competitive tenders are managed from receipt to compliant submittal, using all departments within the company to gain the necessary technical, safety, quality and pricing information.

‘I like managing across all departments; I get to see all aspects of the business. But it is a high-pressure job that involves meeting tight deadlines. As in my last two staff jobs, there is a need for a highly organised and disciplined approach to planning and distributing work packages around the company, to reduce inefficiencies and avoid duplication of effort.

‘The quality of my family life has improved dramatically, and I feel that there are more opportunities available to me (I am not as constrained by age-based promotion as I was in the Forces), but my employment is not as secure.’ His advice: ‘Vet the size and stability of any company you interview with; the way a firm behaves in a recession is a true test of its character and corporate culture.’

Published October 09

Name: Robert Holmes

Rank on Exit: Lance Corporal

Years of Service: 8 Years

Qualifications Gained: Building Services Engineering and NVQ level 2 Sport and Recreation

In September 2007, after eight years in uniform, Lance Corporal Robert Holmes left the Royal Engineers having specialised as an Electrical and Mechanical Draughtsman. Having served in Iraq, his decision to leave the Forces came from his desire ‘to break from the rigid structure and institutionalisation, and truly experience life’.

When asked what training or experience gained during his Service career is useful in civilian life, he responds, ‘The key aspect is discipline – to ensure that everything I do is above the required standard. My qualifications will certainly be beneficial as my career path develops.’ These qualifications, gained during his time in the Service, include a Diploma in Building Services Engineering and NVQ level 2 Sport and Recreation. He attended a Career Transition Workshop and took the following ‘well run and useful’ resettlement training courses, both at the Bristol Management Centre: level 7 Award in Executive Management Studies and Success in Financial Management.

Now living in New Zealand and working for Crown Forklift Sales, he found this job through networking in that country, having started out with ‘various casual employments during travel to Australia’, all of which ‘came about through networking and responses to advertising’. His current employment involves: ‘business development within my territory; meeting required weekly quotas and key performance indicator sales targets; stock taking; ensuring delivery of products; presentations and demonstrations to clients; administrative tasks following sales; relationship management with key accounts; and management of relationships within the company’. He ‘values the autonomy within the role (as long as your targets are met, you are left alone)’, but ‘dislikes the restricted progression’.

He says that his current role is ‘well within my capability. I am, however, free to choose different roles. In my former career I was regularly challenged in a managerial role and was heading for Clerk of Works within the Armed Forces.’ In terms of salary, he says that he now earns less than before, ‘though this is primarily due to limited options caused by the recession. However, although my salary has a low base, it is supplemented by commissions from sales.’

Published October 09

Name: Ashley Williams

Rank on Exit: Staff Sergeant

Years of Service: 23 Years

Qualifications Gained: ITIL, City & Guilds 777 Parts 1 and 2 Operator’s Certificate and NVQ level 3 Management

Staff Sergeant Ashley Williams, 40, left the Royal Signals last year at the end of his Service, following a 23-year career in the Army. He specialised as a radio telegraphist, spending five years as a helicopter pilot, and served in locations including Sierra Leone, Oman, the Falkland Islands, Bosnia and Croatia.

When asked what training or experience gained during his Service career is now useful in civilian life, he replies: ‘IT, telecoms, management. However, having the opportunity to work with a civilian prime contractor in my final tour of duty was excellent experience, which helped prepare me for the transition.’ In addition, during his Service career, he obtained the following qualifications: ITIL, City & Guilds 777 Parts 1 and 2 Operator’s Certificate and NVQ level 3 Management. In terms of skills transferable from military to civilian life, he says, ‘I was in the Bowman System Support Team, which is an ITIL-based support function, and application rationalisation and refreshing delivery of IT (all parts of ITIL methodology) are now a regular part of my career. However, although I am still providing a service to a customer, the mindset, drivers and priorities are completely different. This took a while to understand, but when business language and working practices are understood, it all becomes much simpler.’

He attended a Career Transition Workshop at Tidworth, which he found very useful: ‘I was only expecting to create my CV, but the presenter gave a good insight into his own experiences of transition from military life.’ In addition to this, Williams took PRINCE2 Project Manager Foundation and Practitioner courses.

He now works as a consultant with Source8, a telecoms consultancy. It is, he says, ‘an independent management consultancy providing specialist advisory and unique delivery services, with a particular focus on complex and emerging markets’. The job, which he has now been in for 13 months, offers a salary that is comparable with his leaving wage. Aspects of the work he enjoys are ‘using the “KISS” lesson (Keep it Simple Stupid) learned while serving; while delivering complex projects has become one of the most rewarding experiences. However, probably one of the nicest parts of this work is that it allows me to work from home!’

Published October 09

Project Management - Case Studies