• Careers

I spent nine years in the British Army as an Avionics Technician, working on aircraft and completing operational tour during my service.

Deployment could be challenging and unfamiliar, but it taught me a great deal about resilience, adaptability and the importance of the people around you. When you work closely together in demanding circumstances, colleagues quickly become much more than colleagues, with a real sense of trust, teamwork and looking out for one another.

During my resettlement I completed a NEBOSH qualification, and when I left the Army I made the decision not to continue in aviation. Instead, I moved into the energy industry as a technician, which became the start of a career that has taken me in several different directions. I moved from hands on engineering into operational leadership, progressing through senior operational roles, before later moving into transformation and business improvement.

One thing I have never stopped doing since leaving the Army is learning. Over the years I have completed a range of engineering qualifications, project management courses and other professional development, funded through a combination of employers and the Enhanced Learning Credits scheme. I also used my ELC funding to support completion of my MBA. Continuing my education has been a significant part of my career development and has helped give me the confidence and capability to move into very different types of roles.

Although my career has changed direction several times, there has always been a common thread: solving problems, working through challenges, improving the way things are done and finding practical solutions. Those are skills I believe were shaped significantly by my time in the Army.

Looking back, one of the greatest things the Army gave me was versatility. It taught me that you do not have to stay on one career path, and that the skills developed through military service can be applied in many different environments. Being willing to learn, adapt and step into something unfamiliar has given me opportunities I could not have predicted when I first left the Army.

I also value the Armed Forces community within M Group. There is something reassuring about meeting others who understand that experience, and it is great to see the organisation recognising the skills, perspectives and potential that veterans can bring to a civilian career.