Ex-Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Artillery joins Amey following successful BuildForce referral

22 December 2020
Image of ex lt col who has just joined Amey, stood in front of an Amey office sign with another Amey employee.

Since November 2019, we’ve been working closely with BuildForce, a construction led military recruitment programme, which aims to provide opportunities for Service leavers and veterans as they seek new careers outside of the military. Becoming an Alliance Partner enables us to support Service leavers by offering guidance and advice through Amey’s network of 22 mentors from all levels of our business.  

It’s this close alliance that has led to ex-Lieutenant Colonel Ian Coulson, accepting a role in our Regional Prime South East (RPSE) contract as our Demobilisation Manager and we’re really pleased to welcome him into the Amey family. 

As part of Ian’s transition from his role as Head of Establishment at Thorney Island, BuildForce put him in contact with Richard Castell, Amey’s Operational Relationship Manager, and ex-Army Colonel, who provided him with ongoing support as he looked for employment via our mentoring programme.  

As soon as a vacancy became available, Richard encouraged him to apply knowing that the skills Ian gained in the military, as well as his first-hand experience as one of Amey’s customers, would be perfect for the role. 

John Riley, Amey’s Operations Director, RPSE, is delighted with Ian’s appointment and said ““It is great to have someone of Ian’s experience and capability joining us and we welcome him warmly to the South East team.  This really does show the value of Buildforce.  Finding someone of his calibre would not be easy and under normal circumstances would have taken time and money.  Great result all round.” 

To date, Amey have secured interviews for 21 Service leavers, ranging from Site and Delivery Managers to Project Managers and successfully recruited six ex-military personnel with more in the pipeline.