One man’s resettlement: Russell Light

Ex-Warrant Officer Class 2 Russell Light completed his 22-year engagement with the Infantry in February 2005. In this article he writes frankly about his movement into a new career and highlights the transfer of his Service skills into work with a new employer. He also offers some thoughts on the process of resettlement that may be helpful for any reader considering it.

By the time he was a little over 40 years of age, he had served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands and the Balkans; also undertaking short-term commitments in Oman, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. For his last three years, he filled a post as a training analyst with the Land Warfare Centre in Warminster: ‘My main role was to evaluate collective training for the British Army, with my focus being the evaluation of training for troops deploying on Peace Support Operations and similar tasks. I had also undertaken defence diplomacy work with other nations’ forces.

‘At the start of my appointment I was required to attend courses with the Army School of Training Support, which included training needs analysis; course design; job analysis, training objectives and validation; training audits; and the use of tests in training. Although I had already been an instructor in the Army, attended teaching courses and completed NVQ Level 4 in Training and Development, I would say that these courses run by the MoD at ASTS prepared me for the work I am currently doing.’

During his career, Light had gained an NVQ 4 in Management (to add to the one he also held in Training and Development), Membership of the CIPD through attending training at GloucesterUniversity, and a Diploma in Human Resource Development. He also ‘used all my Enhanced Learning Credits by enrolling on the Foundation Degree in Business and Management with Bournemouth and Leeds Universities, which I completed last year and continued on to a BA (Hons) Degree in International Business and Management. The courses are well run and very useful, I don’t think I would have got into this level of work if I had not got a good qualification.’

A Career Transition Workshop at the Tidworth Resettlement Training Centre provided insights that, at the time, he felt were useful. However from today’s perspective he now feels that the course provides only basic information and there is a great deal more to learn before being on an equal job-hunting footing with his contemporaries.

The RFEA job-finding service was useful in locating ‘a part-time job while on gardening leave and another that involved setting up my own business on a licensee programme. However, this did not work as I fell into a number of problems. I have now had three jobs – the first I found on Jobcentre Plus, the second and current jobs was through networking.

‘The first full-time job was with Worcester County Council as a Training Development Adviser, which I came across on Jobcentre Plus on the Internet. I had at that stage attended about four or five interviews, some of which I turned down, all of which I found on websites and the Internet. My current job is as a training systems designer with Atkins Global in its Defence Division. I started it in January 2007. This is pretty new as jobs go, however I was doing very similar work with General Dynamics UK in my last job.

‘I am responsible for producing training needs analysis (TNA) on defence programmes. Currently I am developing a TNA for the British Army’s new vehicle, Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) programme, which Atkins is developing with the MoD. I undertake analysis of the training requirement, including analysing the jobs and roles of those upon whom the new system will impact. Once the analysis is complete the TNA is produced in report format from which training solutions are designed.

‘The FRES programme is big, which means it’s going to last and it’s a new system. Atkins is a big company and was recently featured in The Times as one of the top 20 employers to work for; the people are great to get on with and everyone is helpful. Benefits and work/life balance are top of their priorities. I don’t have any dislikes about this job or about my last job with General Dynamics. I like working for companies that look out for people like me. I didn’t expect to work for a company like Atkins; however, when they ask you to come for an interview it makes the whole process of job hunting a lot easier and enjoyable.

‘There are a lot of similarities between my Service job and my current job because it is up to defence industry to produce outputs in line with the defence method of delivering training solutions. The best thing for me is that there aren’t many defence-trained TNA analysts around.

‘Differences include going home at night and weekends, and the main priority is the family. The job is a job in order to bring in a wage each month, but it does make it a lot better if the employer is good to work for and the people you work with are friendly. Work/life balance is key – get that right and you can enjoy life after the Forces.

‘With the Army pension and getting a decent wage there is not a lot of difference between what I earn now and what I did in the Services. I think it’s only the lucky ones who can get a salary well above what they were on in the Forces. One major consideration when you leave is that in the Forces you are paid for seven days a week, and you are subsidised on rent, council tax and other living expenses. In civilian life jobs don’t tend to want you to work overtime and at weekends, and you pay rent, rates and all the rest, which you tend to forget when serving. Look at your wage and look in the job market for the area you intend to settle in; if you are a Senior NCO or Warrant Officer you may be surprised to see what you have to do in order to get what you consider a well-paid job.’