Jason Parker served in the Royal Marines for 13 years between 2007 and 2020, completing his service as Corporal.
As Section Commander and Course Instructor, he managed the deployment of a troop of 16 armoured vehicles and 28 crew members to a foreign environment, conducted training exercises with NATO allied forces, organising this within a very tight timescale, whilst always ensuring the safety of all individuals and equipment. His training sessions involved teaching students on how to ‘survive and operate in very arduous conditions’, 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle in -30 degree weather. He also delivered underwater escape training procedures and conducted live firing for 42 men, including managing and planning comprehensive risk assessments. Jason further deputised as upper management, showing his determination, professionalism, and maturity by taking on the role of a higher position. He identified the need for better equipment in the workplace, which led to new and improved kit being supplied and through his logistical planning, organised the movement, feeding and accommodated his team members.
A typical day for Jason whilst serving varied from day to day; he instructed a course that started at 0830 and finished at 1600, involving creating and delivering PowerPoint presentations with the use of EDIP. Jason developed a range of key transferable skills such as project management, logistics and fleet management, Health and Safety and event coordination.
Jason now works as a Site Supervisor for Pantera Carpentry which he gained through BuildForce securing him a week’s work placement which then led to employment.
Speaking to his friends was Jason’s greatest support whilst transitioning to ‘civvy street’, they helped him remain confident in his pursuit for employment. However, his greatest challenge was not being able to do any of his resettlement due to Covid-19 and there was little support from the military which he felt more should have been offered particularly during a pandemic.
Jason’s current role involves supervising work and conducting quality checks, uploading any issues onto the system for the staff to correct in a timely manner. A typical day as a Site Supervisor starts at 0745 to print paperwork for permits, followed by a staff briefing at 0800 of their jobs for the day, raising any contractor issues, any H&S changes and Toolbox talks. The day continues with emails, booking future deliveries, orders, etc., ensuring the project is kept on track. Once admin is complete, Jason has to check-in with the workforce, ensuring the quality is to standard and everyone is happy; with regards to any issues or changes, he will upload to the system and sign-off work on the client’s programme.
‘Planning’ is Jason’s key skill gained during his military service which he uses daily in his role with Pantera, giving him the ability to assess issues and mitigate them accordingly.
Jason’s advice to someone leaving the Armed Forces seeking a new career in construction, would be:
“Try to get some work experience during leave periods to provide knowledge in that area. Undertake courses during your resettlement, such as SSSTS or SMSTS and First Aid at work Lv3 as they are always required and make you more valuable to industry. Gain your CSCS card as early as possible even if it’s just the Labourers Green Card.”
Finally, Jason would describe a career in the construction industry as: “Fast, Order, Precise.”