Last December after a little over 22 years in uniform, Staff Sergeant James Craig left the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The 40-year-old vehicle artificer had served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Canada; earning an automotive engineering HND, City & Guilds graduateship awards in engineering and leadership and management, and a European Computer Driving Licence.
He lists: ‘Trade skills, communication, presentation, leadership, management, fitness, hygiene, teamwork, responsibility, organisational skills, coaching, small accounts, project management, event management, personal discipline, interpersonal skills, conflict management, risk analysis and risk management’ as among the skills he learnt and developed in the Army. A Career Transition Workshop was ‘very useful to compare notes and liaise with other Service leavers’, and he also attended ‘all the available workshops.’ This was followed by PRINCE 2 (project management) training and a civilian work attachment.
Craig found the RFEA ‘useful’ but found his job through personal research using the internet, and he now works for the New Zealand Defence Force as an engineering manager. The job involves: ‘The coordination and control of all aspects of the repair, maintenance, modification and spare parts requisitioning for the organisation’s fleet of medium and heavy lift capacity equipments; training and personnel development of the team tradesmen and apprentices, and career guidance to 25 or more people.
‘I like the flexibility of my employment, the availability of facilities and the contractual benefits.’ He also enjoys ‘knowing you can say no and be gone after a short contractual commitment. Working here has resulted in a substantial pay decrease, but the benefits of being in one of the most beautiful countries in the world more than cover it.’
