 Name: Bernard DevlinRank on Exit: Staff Sergeant
Years of Service: 22 years
Qualifications Gained: level 2 NVQ in administration and qualifying as a forklift truck driver
Eighteen months ago, Staff Sergeant Bernard Devlin, a clerical specialist in the Adjutant General’s Corps, left the Army after 22 years in the UK (including Northern Ireland), Germany, Canada, Kenya, Belize, Cyprus and the Middle East, being decorated for service in Bosnia and the Gulf. Aged 44, he thinks that: ‘Most of the training has given me a good sense of what to prepare for in civilian life. It has given me a better understanding and preparation, and good people skills.’
A career transition workshop was ‘very useful; it gave me some ideas on what I wanted to do’. This was followed by a level 2 NVQ in administration and qualifying as a forklift truck driver. The RFEA job finding service ‘gave me some good ideas and routes for searching for a job’.
Devlin is a security controller, responsible for carrying out background checks to ensure all potential engineers and nuclear staff have no irregular or untoward employment history or criminal entries. ‘I ensure that we keep information in a safe and secure environment and that the company complies with current government legislation. I am also responsible for our various sites around the UK.
‘No two days are the same, and I find it exciting meeting the daily challenges. I still have deadlines and targets to reach within available resources, but this is a nine-to-five, office-bound job. My wage is slightly less, but my pension makes it slightly more than my Service pay.’
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