With the country currently experiencing restrictions on travel and meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are now using alternative ways of hosting their events online and Amey was delighted to be invited to take part in one of a series of virtual seminars hosted by BuildForce, the construction led military recruitment programme.
In November 2019, Amey became an official Alliance Partner of BuildForce and committed to provide opportunities for Service leavers and veterans as they look for new careers outside of the military. We recognise that ex-military personnel have many of the skills we are looking for such as initiative, teamwork, leadership and achieving successful outcomes. We also value their knowledge of the Armed Forces and we are keen to learn from them so we can improve our service delivery across the Defence estate.
We have been working closely with BuildForce providing mentoring support to service leavers and veterans helping them to tailor their CVs, provide them with work experience placements and advice on interviewing techniques. The webinar/seminar was entitled ‘Project Management Discipline’ and attracted more than 50 Service leavers from across the UK.
Ben Watts, Amey’s Senior Project Manager in the South East, hosted his own section which focused on his personal transition from his military career in the British Army to a career in project management. He described how the skills he learnt in the Forces easily transferred over to a project management role and encouraged others to use all the opportunities and support offered to them.
Ben was followed by Amey’s Senior Recruiter, Jolene Hall, who talked about the support individuals receive when applying for roles in Amey, where to find current vacancies and how Amey can offer significant career progression opportunities in all areas of its business.
Feedback from those attending the online seminar was extremely positive and Sanjay Varkay, an ex-Army veteran interested in joining the construction industry said “This was a fantastic event and Ben’s presentation was extremely helpful to veterans looking for new careers. It gave everyone a real insight into project management and the kind of work it entails and has allowed me to better understand the roles in construction and what they involve.”
Caroline Logan, Programme Director at BuildForce added “I just wanted to thank you for your time, it was really appreciated and of great value to our veterans.”