Daniel Hill served with the Rifles for 12 years leaving with the rank of Corporal in 2020. “My most recent role in the Army was a Section Commander, this involved managing training projects as part of a program. I was also responsible for compliance for annual training, leading on H&S. I had the overall responsibility for setting the culture for all team members. I achieved this by leading by example in every area, whether it was in fitness, shooting, or generally upholding British Army values. I regularly planned and arranged social events which promoted an excellent team ethos and rewarded hard work by other members of my team.
A typical day would start with a group fitness session, where this would range from running, strength & conditioning or tabs. I would use this opportunity to practice mental robustness within my team and create a growth culture by encouraging my team to take ownership of themselves most importantly, but also taking accountability of each other which is crucial when working in a team environment.
I was lucky to gain a wealth of skills while serving, I have to say that there are so many, but here is a list of the most important in my opinion:
Upon leaving the Army, my first civilian role was as an Operations Manager with Amey. I was lucky to get the role through the BuildForce, after I attended one of their Insight Days and was offered the role off the back of it. I think the construction industry was quite a slick transition, as the environment and the people were very similar to when I was serving.
One of the biggest challenges I faced during my transition was that I left during the height of Covid19 in 2020. There was a lot of uncertainty within organisations which led to recruitment freezes. It was very difficult to do any networking and get myself noticed by attending careers fairs and building my professional network. This made getting opportunities much trickier but not insurmountable. I am a firm believer in people buy into people and then back that up with a bombproof CV. BuildForce helped with CV checking etc which was also very helpful.
My role as Operations Manager with Amey involved managing all the MoD property in the Essex & East Anglia area, I was responsible for the operations behind the maintenance and preplanning maintenance of all the properties in the area, managing the call centre and also the supply chain.
A typical day involved ensuring that all the jobs that have been reported have engineers allocated them, so that they can be completed within KPI’s. I also analysed the data to see if there were any trends within tasks that have been reported by families and then acted upon this with the supply chain to align the operational need. Part of my role involved working with Community Officers to highlight risk within areas, this would then set the guidelines for future projects. Regular meetings were also required up and down the business to set, or discuss change in strategies, monthly & quarterly KPI, and highlight risk between the working parts of our area of interest. I used all the skills I gained during the army daily, such as problem solving, data analysis, data gathering, stakeholder management, project planning, and project delivery.
Whatever part of the industry you want to work in, do the courses you need in order to carry out that role as early as possible. Use the terminology & practices you’ve learnt during your resettlement, so that you can use these to impress your new employer. A career in construction is fast moving, rewarding, exciting. As Veterans we are set apart by our discipline, resilience and problem-solving abilities.
I have now moved overseas to support my wife who secured employment there. It is this same resilience and can-do attitude which made our move possible. I am now looking forward to securing a new role abroad and starting a new challenge.