Equipped - Jan/Feb 2013 by BC Portfolio

TRAINING RESETTLEMENT RECRUITMENT

FREE!

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FORCES EMPLOYMENT CHARITY

SERVING

THE ARMY NAVY & AIR FORCE FRANCHISING EXPLAINED ELC ADVICE RENAULT & VOLVO ROAD TEST HOW TO BECOME SELF-EMPLOYED FINANCE TIPS

NEED A

JOB?

READ THIS!

TRANSPORT ENGINEERING

JANUARY/FEBRUARY FREE www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

YOUR TRANSITION

GUIDE AEROSPACE

CLOSE PROTECTION & MARITIME SECURITY

Equip yourself to reach your potential with Professional Registration

Becoming professionally registered through the IET is highly valued by employers and allows your military skills and experience to receive external international recognition. To find out more about the advantages of IET membership, Professional Registration and the special registration agreements that we have in place with the armed forces visit our website.

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Hello! »Welcome

WELCOME TO OUR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY ISSUE

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, the 65th anniversary of the start of the Berlin airlift and the 50th anniversary of both President Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ and Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speeches. For the British military, 2013 has begun with the prospect of another foreign war as the EU commits itself to a training mission in Mali, West Africa. By the end of the year, nearly half our troops will have left Afghanistan. At home, thousands more servicemen and women will leave the armed forces over the next 12 months and begin the transition process. We hope we can help make the move a little easier by highlighting those companies that are recruiting and, better still, targeting ex-forces personnel. In this issue, we feature employment opportunities in the security sector, the aerospace industry, and in transport engineering. For those who want to start a business there are fantastic openings and great prospects in franchising. Our new columnist Laura Joint explains how to become selfemployed, while Corporal Steven Feeney discovers ways to gain qualifications for free. We also bring you news of companies where you can use your Enhanced Learning Credits, plus the definitive guide on how to claim by ELC expert Squadron Leader Mark Norey. For more job and training alerts and for digital copies of the magazine, register free on our website, www.equippedmagazine.co.uk – and please come back to us with your own news and views.

EDITOR Jenny Hjul

Equipped Media Group Ltd 3 Lynedoch Place, Glasgow, G3 6AB Telephone 0141 353 2800 Editor JENNY HJUL jenny.hjul@equippedmedia.co.uk Designer BLAIR CARRICK blair.carrick@equippedmedia.co.uk

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

THE ARMED FORCES RESETTLEMENT MAGAZINE

FOUR MUST READS IN THIS ISSUE EQUIPPED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 ALL YOU NEED

Happy new career

TRAINING RESETTLEMENT RECRUITMENT

FREE!

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FORCES EMPLOYMENT CHARITY

SERVING

THE ARMY NAVY & AIR FORCE FRANCHISING EXPLAINED ELC ADVICE

NEED A

RENAULT & VOLVO ROAD TEST

JOB?

HOW TO BECOME SELF-EMPLOYED

READ THIS!

FINANCE TIPS TRANSPORT ENGINEERING

JANUARY/FEBRUARY FREE www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

YOUR TRANSITION

GUIDE AEROSPACE

CLOSE PROTECTION & MARITIME SECURITY

3 MUST READS

1 CHILD BENEFITS Can you still claim yours? Our financial expert Jeff Salway explains the changes in simple terms Page 14

2 DAKAR CHALLENGE Injured servicemen take part in the world’s most gruelling rally to raise money for charity Page 16

3 RISKY BUSINESS Security is a natural career path for former servicemen – we show you where to find the best jobs Page 35

Managing Director DAVID RIDDELL david.riddell@equippedmedia.co.uk Director MARTIN MACKENZIE martin.mackenzie@equippedmedia.co.uk Sales Executive CAROLE RIDDELL carole.riddell@equippedmedia.co.uk

Sales Executive JOHN HART john.hart@equippedmedia.co.uk Sales Executive PAUL MCGUIRE paul.mcguire@equippedmedia.co.uk

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of EQUIPPED, the publishers can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors, manufactucturers or advitisers. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Thanks to Neil Hall at Defence Imagery

Company registration number 08024516

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 3

»January/February 2013 35

JOBS AVAILABLE WITH... DRIL-QUIP PAGE 18 SCOTTISH POWER PAGE 54 VINCI PAGE 59 NEW LOOK PAGE 60 BBA AVIATION PAGE 91 N POWER PAGE 92 Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

Inside

6 BULLETIN News, recruitment, fund raising 13 MELANIE PULLAN Understand your emotions 14 FINANCE The new child benefit rules 16 CHARITY FOCUS Race against the odds 22 TRANSITION MATTERS Gaining qualifications for free 26 HOW TO… Become self-employed 28 FRANCHISING Buying into a brand 35 SECURITY Close protection jobs 50 AEROSPACE The sky’s the limit 56 TRANSPORT ENGINEERING Keep on the rails 61 RESETTLEMENT How to claim your learning credits 74 RECRUITMENT Second careers 78 RFEA Help for injured service personnel 80 MOTORING A country car 87 BOOKS Scots at war 87 GENERAL INTEREST Military leaders at leisure 88 FACT FILE More situations vacant 90 PUB SPY Where others can’t reach

SHUTTERSTOCK/ANDREW NOAKES

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE PETER CURRIE Major General Currie is Lieutenant Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea andchairman of Combat Stress Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

LAURA JOINT The former BBC journalist and founder of Brilliant Autobiographies launches our new advice column

STEVEN FEENEY Corporal Feeney served eight years in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army and is writing his first book January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 5

»Bulletin

NEWS » AWARD WINNERS » AFGHAN APPEAL » HOMES HELP » CAFE DISCOUNT » MILITARY MENTORS

6 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

Pairing against pirates Crew from HMS Monmouth and HMS Atherstone have been conducting a joint training exercise in the Gulf. During a level 2 piracy takedown, HMS Atherstone Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

(a Hunt class MCMV) played the role of a pirated ship with armed rogues in control, while HMS Monmouth was dispatched to retake the vessel, using her embarked

Royal Marine boarding team, as well as sniper cover from her Lynx Mk 8 SRU helicopter, not to mention the formidable weaponry she carries as a Type 23 frigate.

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 7

»Bulletin

Brave Hayley wins award

FACTOID

FIVE

The number of Oscar nominations for Zero Dark Thirty, the film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden

event in London’s Imperial War Museum, which was also attended by the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister, David Cameron The runners-up for the Life Saver Award, which was, sponsored by Red Lion Foods, were the writer Emma Holliday from HMS Montrose and the Medical Emergency Response Team on Operation Herrick 16. Red Lion Foods sells its products through supermarkets such as Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op and has raised more than £900,000 in just two years, giving all its post-tax profits to charity. The company also sponsored another Millies winner, Nikki Scott, who set up Scotty’s Little Soldiers to support the children of servicemen and women who have lost one or both parents in conflict or accident. Nikki received her Support to the Armed Forces award from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Hayley and her boyfriend, Scott Reading, who is also a soldier

For more information visit www.redlionfoods.com or www.scottyslittle soldiers.co.uk

General’s wife in Afghan appeal A new e-book on Afghanistan has been launched to raise money for school projects in the country. Afghanistan Revealed, compiled by the UK based charity the Afghan Appeal Fund, includes chapters from some of the world’s top experts on the region.

As well as focusing on politics and the war, the book looks at the lives of the Afghan people, their history, family life and culture, covering issues ranging from the impact of Islam on Afghanistan to Afghan cuisine and the diversity of the Afghan people. The contributors have all

agreed to donate their royalties to the Afghan Appeal Fund. The charity, run by families of British soldiers, has already funded five schools in Afghanistan, supporting around 6,000 pupils. It is now working on funding five more. The charity was set up by Caroline

Richards, wife of Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff. Lady Richards said her fascination with Afghan art and people began in 2006 when Sir David was made the first nonAmerican commander of the Nato forces in Afghanistan. For more information visit www.afghanappeal fund.org.uk

We help all kinds of people achieve extraordinary things. Wouldn’t it be great if you could broaden your mind or get the qualification you’ve always wanted without turning your world upside down?

8 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

THE SUN

ance Corporal Hayley Ridgeway from 1 Rifles won the Life Saver Award at The Sun’s ‘Millies’ military awards in December. Hayley delivered medical aid to six members of her patrol in Afghanistan after they had been hit by an IED. Despite being wounded herself, she attended to the most severely injured immediately, reviving the young commander who had been knocked unconscious. She prioritised other wounded men on to the extraction helicopter and was eventually extracted herself. Hayley was given her award by the actress Dame Helen Mirren at a star-studded

NEWS IN BRIEF DAKAR CRASH A team of disabled British servicemen vowed to carry on competing in the gruelling Dakar rally despite a crash along the route which killed two passengers in a taxi. Of the four teams making up Race2Recovery, only two were still in the race when Equipped went to press. Team leader Captain Tony Harris said they hoped to raise £1 million for service charities. Read their story on page 16

Finance for desirable new-builds

Homes help

PLUMLIFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

scheme to help people on lower to middle incomes get on the property ladder is making the military a top priority. Affordable home ownership initiatives such as HomeBuy are aimed at helping first time buyers who earn a household income of £60,000 or less. However, the government is especially keen to support MoD and ex military personnel. Armed Forces’ applications are therefore prioritised. HomeBuy schemes include Shared Ownership and FirstBuy, the new equity loan initiative. Both tackle the problem of raising the huge deposits now required as standard by lenders – typically around 10 to 20 per cent of a property’s value. HomeBuy schemes are man-

aged by a network of regional agencies, such as Plumlife, which operates in the northwest and South Yorkshire. Plumlife offers an information and registration service for first time buyers, providing free, impartial mortgage advice via its panel of independent financial advisers. There are hundreds of desirable new-build homes available to buy through the scheme from the UK’s top house builders including Strata, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon Homes, Barratt’s and Redrow. For information on affordable homes in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire, please contact Plumlife on 0161 447 5151 or visit the website: www.plumlife.co.uk.

Training in the desert

General David Petraeus resigned following an extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell. CAREERS FAIR You might have left the forces years ago, or are just thinking about it now, or maybe you are already in the resettlement process. Whatever your situation, you can meet employers, find jobs, access self-employment opportunities, enrol in training schemes and get in touch with a whole raft of support services specialising in the transition from military to civilian life at the British Forces Resettlement Services career event on January 31 at Greetham Valley Golf and Conference Centre, Wood Lane, Greetham, Oakham, Rutland LE15 7SN, from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

OBAMA’S TEAM President Obama has nominated former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to be his new Defence Secretary. In picking enlisted Army man and Vietnam veteran Hagel, 66, Obama said American troops would be ‘getting one of their own’. Obama also announced the nomination of John Brennan, his White House counterterrorism adviser, to head the CIA after retired Army

Obama picks a veteran

SHARE YOUR NEWS If you want to use this space in future editions of Equipped for any news stories, announcements or events that you think worth sharing, please contact the editor (jenny.hjul@ equippedmedia.co.uk)

We help all kinds of people achieve extraordinary things. Wouldn’t it be great if you could broaden your mind or get the qualification you’ve always wanted without turning your world upside down?

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 9

»Bulletin

What a catch!

Nick Nairn in Erskine’s popular cafe

and materials for prosthetic limbs began to run short. During a meeting with Sir Donald MacAlister, the principal of the University of Glasgow, Macewen spotted some willow trees in the

Military mentors needed

grounds. He asked if he could have them to make artificial limbs at Erskine and the principal suggested he approach the University Court. It is not known whether he did or not, but that same

Mentors offer practical advice

he ‘Military to Mentors’ scheme launched by the educational charity SkillForce is now in its second year and looking for more former servicemen and women to join up. Mentors work with youngsters aged between 14 and 19 and help them re-engage with education, supporting them in the classroom, finding solutions to their problems and offering practical advice. The first Military to Mentors programme ran between

10 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

September 2011 and July 2012, taking on and training 100 former forces personnel, many of whom are now working in education or in youth projects with SkillForce.

SkillForce recognises service people’s standards and values and seeks to harness these. Funded by the Department of Education as part of its Troops to Teachers initiative, and

afternoon the willows vanished from the university. Visit www. erskinegardencentre.co.uk Tables can be booked by calling 0141-814 4680.

backed by the Royal British Legion, the Military to Mentors scheme is designed to provide ex-service personnel with a career opportunity to progress within the education sector and is open to those who are going through resettlement and those who have left for some time. There are still places on the courses running from April to July this year. All programmes last 10 weeks and include four weeks of training at SkillForce’s offices in Nottinghamshire, followed by six weeks of work placements. Afterwards, mentors will be given help applying for jobs, either within SkillForce or with its partners or schools. Visit www.skillforce.org/ work-for-us/military-mentors Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

ERSKINE/SHUTTERSTOCK

isitors to the Vanishing Willows café near Bishopton in Scotland will not only be rewarded by a special promotion on the fish and chips in February, they will also be helping the military charity Erskine. A partnership between Erskine and internationally renowned chef Nick Nairn has seen the café flourish since it opened nearly three years ago within the purpose built Erskine Garden Centre. Nick has been a long-term supporter of Erskine, having been in the merchant navy himself, and much of the delicious food on offer in the café is made to his own recipes. All profits generated by the café are reinvested into the charity, which helps care for veterans in Erskine’s five homes across Scotland. The name Vanishing Willows dates back to Sir William Macewen, Erskine’s founder. In 1916, the number of limbless servicemen was vast

Over a year’s university study for only £75 You may be eligible for a huge subsidy towards a university qualification. If you live in England, your household income is under £25,000, and you haven’t got a higher education qualification, you can apply for ‘Access to Success’ funding. This affordable path on the way to a career-boosting degree or other recognised award is provided by The Open University (OU) and the National Scholarship Programme.

Wide choice

You can choose courses that suit your interests or skills from the OU’s extensive range. On completion, you’ll earn academic credits. Further study with the OU could turn your credits into a certificate or diploma of higher education, a foundation degree or an honours degree. Any of these will be valuable in your Services career or help you beat off competition for the civilian job you want.

‘Access to Success’

For only £75, you can take OU courses that would otherwise cost over £3,000. ‘Access to Success’ starts with a 20 week Openings module that eases you into OU learning. Then, over about 9 months, you’ll study a career-relevant subject at OU Level 1.

Study that suits you

The flexible, distance learning style of OU study makes it ideal if you’re in the Armed Forces because you can work your studies around shifts and postings. Over 4,000 service personnel and their dependents are currently taking advantage of the special relationship between the OU and the Armed Forces.

Act now ‘Access to Success’ funding is limited, so find out more now Visit www.open.ac.uk/learning/access

Or call 0845 300 6090 and quote ‘LAPAAE’

INSPIRING LEARNING The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England and Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).

Honour the ones who didn’t come home. Help Erskine care for the ones who did. Erskine has been providing care, accommodation and employment for ex-Service men and women in Scotland since 1916. We depend heavily on the generosity of people like you to continue doing the valuable work we do. So please give whatever you can. To donate, visit www.erskine.org.uk or call free on 0300 123 1203. Or text ERSKINE to 70800 to give £5. Texts cost £5 plus your standard network rate of which a minimum of £4.96 will be received by Erskine. Scottish Charity No: SC006609.

»Personal development

MELANIE PULLAN

n the last issue of Equipped I wrote about emotional reactions to change, and emphasised the importance of self-awareness and self-management. This time I thought it might be interesting to unpack our emotions a little more and look at how they influence our interpersonal behaviour. This is important as in career transition we need to be able to influence others (to sell ourselves) and therefore having good interpersonal skills is essential. However, there can be internal barriers to our interpersonal behaviour, and we are frequently blinkered to both their causes and effects. Since about the 1950s there has been a lot of interest in the human element of our behaviour, and psychologists (and others) have striven to understand what makes us behave in the way we do. Why can different people experience seemingly similar things and have a very different reaction to them? One school of thought claims that our reactions can be traced back to our self-concept – how we view ourselves. The argument is that our self-concept drives our feelings, our feelings drive our behaviour, and our behaviour drives our results (which we could then link back to how we view ourselves). As the diagram implies (Fig. A), we relate to each other from our outer layer of behaviour. The outside behaviour is all the world sees; it does not see either the strength or vulnerability we may be experiencing deep inside. If we view ourselves in a positive light, we are more likely to be productive, optimistic, and confident – and we interact well with others. Conversely, if we have a negative opinion of ourselves we are likely to lack confidence - and to cover this up we resort to behaving defensively, which can be wrongly interpreted with Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

Unpack your emotions What makes people behave so differently to similar experiences?

How we view ourselves

Our feelings Our behaviour

Fig. A

unintended consequences. Creating positive motivation behind human behaviour is therefore essential for unleashing human potential. Sounds easier said than done! The concept of vulnerability mentioned above is very relevant to career transition, particularly when leaving the services and joining civilian life. While the armed forces

can be emotionally and physically demanding (for both the individual and their family), there is considerable security in terms of income, identity and lifestyle. The loss of this security can create feelings of vulnerability. It can change how we view ourselves, dent our confidence, and lead to us protecting our ‘self ’ through

defensive behaviour. We might lose our sense of humour, take offence easily, play ‘poor me’, hold grudges, be in denial – the list goes on (and we are all guilty at some time). Critically, defensive behaviour is unlikely to help us make any friends. Defensive behaviour is itself a form of denial. We use defence mechanisms to protect our inner self; but in doing so we are not being honest with ourselves, and this is why defensive behaviour tends to be negative. For instance, we might be critical of others or resort to sarcasm because we do not want to expose our weaknesses, and we do not want to expose weaknesses because our selfesteem has been damaged (we believe we compare unfavourably with others). But is this belief a perception or is it a fact? Can we look at this belief in a more objective way? Can we understand where it comes from? If we can unpack and understand our beliefs and emotions we can help ourselves minimise this defensiveness. Whether we have chosen our career change or had it imposed upon us, we will have an emotional reaction to it. Emotions such as fear have evolved to protect us, but if left unchecked can block our progress. For positive progress we need to acknowledge how we are feeling (at least to ourselves) and start to work more constructively with our emotions. Ultimately, we can choose how we react. We can take off our emotional blinkers, assume responsibility, regain power, include others, and be more open. With our defensive drawbridges down, the people who can help us will be able to enter our lives. Melanie Pullan is an organisational psychologist and an Army wife. She helps people in career transition to find direction and overcome internal barriers to success. January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 13

»Finance

JEFF SALWAY

undreds of thousands of families will face financial shortfalls this year after changes to child benefit that will leave some parents facing hefty tax penalties. New rules that came into force on January 7 effectively give many families that qualify for child benefit just two choices - and unappealing ones at that. Under the government’s crackdown on child benefit, families can either opt against claiming payments for which they are eligible or continue to claim them but with the threat of a tax penalty hanging over them. Child benefit is currently available to all families regardless of income. It’s worth £20.30 a week for the first child and £13.20 a week for each subsequent child. But the new rules mean that families with, say, three children and at least one parent earning £50,000 a year or more could lose out on payments worth £2,500 a year. The controversy arises from an anomaly whereby families with a total income of £50,000 a year or more brought in by one earner will lose some or all of their payments, while those with income of £98,000 but with the earning split equally between two earners will retain the benefit. The measure will result in some families with three children under the age of six losing out by up to £50,000 by the time their youngest turns 18, according to accountants PwC. Those with two young children could lose nearly £40,000. If you are among the households potentially hit by the changes you should have received a letter from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in late 2012 explaining what’s happening. However, the letters are thin on detail and do little to help people in deciding what to do. Yet there is a decision to make. The way in which the benefit is being taken away is causing the biggest problem,

14 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Taxing times How the changes to child benefit could affect you and your family as it is loaded with complications and potentially costly consequences. It is being worked out through what is called the high income child benefit charge (HICBC), where one per cent of the benefit is being taken away for every £100 of income above £50,000. The benefit is removed entirely from any family where someone earns more than £60,000. If you are on more than £50,000 and you get the benefit or you are the higher earner of a couple where one partner receives the benefit, the onus is on you to inform HMRC. If you don’t, you could be fined or have the benefit clawed back from you in future. What this means is that if you, or your partner, receives child benefit and earns between £50,000 and £60,000 you will have to complete a self-assessment return. You will get your full child benefit for now, but the revenue will use your selfassessment to work out how much has been overpaid. It will recover that money through

the HICBC. It is estimated that around half a million families will enter the self-assessment system for the first time as a direct result of the change - a factor that is likely to put a lot of people off claiming child benefit. Things are especially complicated if your income varies, as it does for many selfemployed people. But opting not to claim the benefit is not that simple - partly because those eligible for the benefit but who do not claim it may not qualify for national insurance credits. Those credits are important as they are given to people who receive benefits to ensure that they remain entitled to the state pension and several other state payments. For example, if you are a parent who stays at home to look

The good news is that there are ways of getting around the tax charg

after children under the age of 12 and you qualify for child benefit you are entitled to class 3 national insurance credits, which help you maintain your contributions record. The revenue’s stance is that those parents should claim child benefit for any new children even if they don’t receive the actual payments, to ensure they qualify for those vital national insurance credits. There are other anomalies to be aware of. For example, you can be hit by a tax charge even if the children in your household are not your own. All that matters to HMRC is that at least one party is receiving the benefit and that at least one party earns more than £50,000. It looks at the household as a unit, so the high earner is liable for the tax charge even if they are not the recipients of child benefit. The good news is that there are ways of getting around the tax charge, and without potentially incurring the wrath of the revenue. The main tactic is to try to reduce your ‘adjusted net income’, which is the figure used by HMRC in assessing your earnings. This figure is your taxable income - which includes your salary and perks such as medical insurance and company car - minus deductions like pension contributions and charity donations. By maximising the latter increasing your pension payments, for example - you could take your net adjusted income down a level that either reduces the clawback of your child benefits or allows you to keep the full payments. If you’re not sure what to do and the loss of your child benefit payments would spell bad news for the household finances, it may be worth seeking expert financial or tax advice. At the very least it’s worth talking to your partner about it and making sure you speak to HMRC so that you know where you stand. Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

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»CharityFocus

Operation Rally How a group of injured soldiers became the first disabled team ever to attempt the world’s most gruelling off-road race

16 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

Their lives are about their abilities, not their disabilities which are barely mentioned

Cathy and Tony

The team and their vehicles

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

t has been described as the world’s most gruelling race, an arduous 5,000 miles across rough terrain, which only 40 per cent of competitors complete. Yet for a group of injured soldiers, the Dakar Rally is seen as an opportunity as much as a challenge. Race2Recovery, which became the first disabled team to take part in the Dakar Rally when they set off on January 5, are determined to reach the finishing line on January 21. If they do, they will have driven from Peru to Chile in South America, where the race is now staged, traversed dunes and swamps and canyons, and crossed the Andes - twice. Along the way they have attracted support and sponsorship from the likes of Princes William and Harry and Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear - who described the team as ‘among the most inspirational people I have ever met’, - and they are on course to raise thousands of

pounds for the Tedworth House Personal Recovery Centre in Wiltshire. One of the drivers is Captain Tony Harris, 31, of the Royal Fusiliers. He came up with the idea of Race2Recovery after being injured in Sangin, Afghanistan, in 2009 and having his left leg amputated below the knee. He had been interested in rallying for a while but never had much chance to pursue it. ‘I joined Sandhurst at 20, two days before the Twin Towers were hit,’ he said. ‘All my time was spent on operations.’ It was his injuries, ironically, that made rally driving a possibility. Together with Tom Neathway, a Para and triple amputee, whom he met during treatment, Tony began to set his sights on the hardest race of all. ‘You have to aim for the top,’ he said, ‘and the great thing about motor sport is that no one cares if you are disabled.’ The fact that many of the drivers and navigators January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 17

MEET CHALLENGES. SET STANDARDS.

Dril-Quip is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of a diverse range of precision engineered drilling and production equipment. We value the welfare and career development of all our employees and all vacancies oﬀer great scope for career progression and a competitive salary, beneﬁts and relocation package.

Machinists Applicants must be time served, or have a proven track record in a similar discipline and experience of working CNC VTL machines and/or CNC horizontal boring mills.

QC Inspectors

For full details of these and other opportunities go to www.dril-quip.com/employeast.htm or send your CV to HR Department, Dril-Quip Europe Limited, Stoneywood Park, Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 7DZ.

Applicants must have a recognised trade apprenticeship/engineering background and experience in Quality Control Inspection/Testing in a manufacturing environment.

Welders Applicants must be time served, with STICK experience (qualiﬁed to 3G/6G level) and, ideally, experience in GTAW, Sub Arc Welding, GMAW and FCAW.

Platers Applicants must be time served, with experience in profile burning and oxy-acetylene.

www.drill-quip.com

Setting a Global Standard

Minimal Risk Consultancy MRC has been sourcing individuals and building teams of multi-skilled, former military and service specialists for ten years. MRC provides full time and contract positions for a broad range of clients worldwide, in both Government and Commercial spheres. The underlying strength of MRC is the breadth of experience of our Directors, Managers and Specialist Team. All deployments are managed through our proprietary Recruitment Management System. MRC  Operates own in-house Recruitment Business.  Meets and surpasses international standards.  Has the ability to deliver a tailored service.  Offers a collaborative and flexible approach.  Has enhanced vetting and screening systems.  Offers a full and managed deployment service.  Are quality assured to ISO 9001 and are an SIA Approved Contractor for Security Guarding.  Are a founding member of SCEG.

Consultancy  Project Management  Recruitment

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Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

»CharityFocus

Tony (far right) and the team

in Race2Recovery’s team have serious disabilities is barely mentioned. They and their back-up corps of mechanics, veterans and expert civilians, are competing with able bodied teams across the same deserts and dizzying descents and putting in the same long days. Backed by Land Rover, one of several big name sponsors, they endured testing conditions in remote regions of Morocco before setting off for Lima. ‘Driving more than 500km per day in temperatures up to 37 degrees and over 2000 metre high peaks en-route to the desert, with rough camping alongside our vehicles for three nights,’ helped prepare the team for the demands of the rally, said Tony. The British contingent is complemented by two US marines – Mark Zambon and Timothy Read, who were both injured in Afghanistan. Tony said he was put in touch with them through an ex-Marine who was training Mark for an assault on Mount Kilimanjaro when he heard about Race2Recovery. Tony said ‘it was clear straight away the Americans would fit in – they had the right attitude’. The fact that ‘Mark Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

was blown up a year after me, also in Sangin’, he said, made the bond even stronger. Also in the team is Frenchman Pierre De Frenne, a Dakar legend who has managed winning teams and is regarded as a master strategist. Tony says Pierre has a disability himself, a damaged left hand, and was immediately fascinated by their idea and how it chimed with ‘the true ethos of Dakar, which is adventure’. Pierre has worked with Grueling Andrew challenge ‘Pav’ Taylor, in ‘a sort of platoon commander and sergeant relationship’, said Tony, which has been the driving the force behind Race2Recovery’s bid for success. Further French racing expertise comes from Cathy Derousseaux, goddaughter of another racing legend and three times Dakar winner Pierre Lartigue, and herself a motor sports champion, winner of the Rally Lebanon and the French Women’s Rally Championship. Tony said it was vital to have this level of expertise when they were putting together their team in just 18 months. He said the military had also ‘been brilliant’, giving the soldiers the time and space to

prepare themselves. When Tony leaves the Army in March he said the work he has done in project management and pitching to sponsors will help in any future career he chooses. He obviously has talents in this area and managed to attract not just top level expertise but generous funding. The big breakthrough came late in the day, in November, when the Royal Foundation, set up by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, agreed to fund Race2Recovery. ‘By the middle of October I was thinking I’d have to sell my house or that the race wasn’t going to be possible,’ said Tony, who describes himself as ‘dangerously optimistic’. But on the day the Royals were approached the funding was approved and Race2Recovery became the first recipients of a grant from the Royals’ Endeavour Fund, established to enable more wounded and injured servicemen and women to take part in sports challenges. Tony said the Royal backing recognised the long-term aims of the team’s campaign, to inspire others in adversity. In organising Race2Recovery he has got companies engaged in helping injured service personnel and easing them back into employment. ‘We are doing the racing and have handed that side of things over

to the specialists to deliver.’ There are many opportunities, he believes, for service leavers in the racing and motor sports industry and he hopes Race2Recovery will help make them aware of the openings – in everything from marketing and PR to mechanics. ‘Working nine to five doesn’t necessarily suit military people but they will work as long as they have to, to get things done.’ That, he says, is appreciated in the world of motor sports, which has been very supportive of his team’s efforts. Tony, who lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife xxxx Liz and two young children, xxxx spoke to Equipped just before xxxxxx he left to train in Morocco at the beginning of December. He said he was only nervous about failing. As to the prospect of mud and dirt and sleepless nights, he just laughed: ‘I’m looking forward to it.’ Everyone in the team, from the drivers to the navigators to the mechanics and back-up teams, has volunteered and the whole enterprise has cost them all a lot. But no one doubts that it has been worthwhile. As Nick Booth, chief executive of The Royal Foundation, said of the Race2Recovery team: ‘Their lives are about their abilities, not their disabilities.’ To make a donation, visit www.race2recovery.com January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 19

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 21

»Transition matters

How to learn for a lot less

Steven Feeney investigates study options that cost next to nothing

f like me you are currently undergoing resettlement you will have been overwhelmed with guidance about education and training. Stop. Relax. I will show you how to get most of the qualifications you seek for free, or at a greatly reduced cost. The less you spend on obtaining the relevant education for you the better; in the modern era, knowledge that previously cost hundreds of thousands of pounds can now be accessed for free or for the price of an internet connection. The key word in that previous paragraph is relevant. You only have a limited amount of time to retrain or add to your current qualifications and you should focus on strengthening your weaknesses or enhancing skills you already possess.

Stage 1 What do you want to learn? Start with a general outline of what skills you wish to develop by listing the broad areas you are interested in or feel you are lacking. Your list may look a little like the following: ■■ IT skills ■■ Languages ■■ Management ■■ Leadership ■■ Security ■■ Engineering ■■ Leisure

Once you have identified the areas, you should begin to drill down into the detail of exactly what you need: ■■ IT skills - Programming, Web Design, Microsoft Office ■■ Languages - Fundamental German, Beginners Spanish ■■ Management - Diversity, Negotiation, Business Finance, Project Management

■■ Security skills - Risk Management, Computer Networking, Ethical Hacking ■■ Engineering - Advanced Mathematics, Electrical Wiring, Locksmithing ■■ Leisure skills - Spinning, Martial Arts, Lifeguarding, Mountain Leader

Stage 2 Why do you want to learn? Even at this early stage it may be obvious that your ambitions far surpass the time you have. Work through the list item by item, being clear in your mind why you want to learn that particular skill. ■■ Do you need it for a job? ■■ Does that skill require a certificate or just a demonstration of ability? ■■ Is it a life-long ambition? ■■ Do you want to simply be a better manager?

You can weed out any nonessential things that you can learn at a later date when your work-life balance is more forgiving.

Stage 3 How is learning achieved?

You must research your industry and find out what is required to be considered skilled. An excellent start point is Wikipedia which will have detailed pages regarding your industry or area of study. The page will likely have links to the governing bodies, independent authorities, alternative qualifications and common syllabus. Thirty minutes of research at this stage can save you thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours at a later stage. For every qualification you seek ask if you can: ■■ Acquire the qualification by simply demonstrating

22 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

All of the following resources can be accessed via Google, ITunes or DII.

experience (and an admin fee) ■■ Self-study via materials freely available in the library or on the internet ■■ Self-study via materials purchased second hand or online ■■ Self-study with a dedicated online course, and, can that course be discounted ■■ Require tutor-led instruction ■■ Require full time one-to-one instruction

Defence Learning Portal

800 courses ranging from basic and advanced IT skills through to highly specialised electronic warfare courses, computer network defence and engineering classes. Some courses have exams with a printed certificate of completion or prepare you for external exams.

Stage 4 Where to find study materials

MoD civil service

The following is not an exhaustive list but should serve as a springboard to get you started. The Open Course Ware movement puts the classes of institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge directly at your fingertips.

As a member of the armed forces you have full access to the civil service curriculum offered via the civil service learning page. There are more than 500 courses in management, finance, leadership and business acumen.

Army Library and Information Service (access via ArmyNet)

Corporal Feeney

A huge compendium of learning materials, guidance and books. Completely free of charge.

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

What do you want to learn?

Example A CASE STUDY

Project Management

orldwide there are a range of qualifications and training packages which you can pay for to instruct you in project management techniques. However, now you are faced with a choice: which certificates are considered credible and which are not? Are US project management techniques different from the UK, South Africa or Europe? Do you need a hard copy certificate or

just evidence you have applied the principles?

Foundation Exam available through the Defence Learning Portal (DLP) for free.

Acquire the qualification by simply demonstrating your present level of experience? No. Qualification is by exam only costing £187.

Self-study via materials purchased second hand or online? Yes. Average cost of a Study Guide is £22 plus a range of iPhone and Android apps.

Self-study via materials freely available in the library or on the internet? Yes. Hard copy of the APM OGC PRINCE2 Study Guide available in local libraries or through the Defence Library Service which will post to a service address. Yes. 20-hour online learning package for the PRINCE2

Self-study with a dedicated online course and can that course be discounted? Yes. Various vendors offer PRINCE2 training/exam packages and most recently Groupon listed a complete distance learning course and exam voucher for £199.

Example B Open Culture.com

Open Culture currently has a list of 185 free online courses from top institutions that offer certificates or statement of completion. If that is not enough for you they also have 540 free online courses from the world’s universities.

Khan Academy

Launched in 2006 providing a ‘high quality education to anyone, anywhere’, the website supplies a free online collection of more than 3,500 video tutorials and has delivered over 200 million lessons in IT, economics, art history and science.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Open University Open Learn

CASE STUDY

CompTIA A+

ompTIA is a provider of professional certifications for the IT industry; they offer a range of widely accepted qualifications, most notably A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+ and others. In order to receive the CompTIA A+ certification a candidate must pass two exams. The A+ Essentials examination measures necessary competencies for an entry-level IT professional/technician.

There are 6,000 courses which can be enrolled upon or browsed without commitment. Almost all of the courses were previous Open University modules (or still are) which cost between £150 and £2,500 and can now be studied for free.

other academic institutions use the ItunesU service to distribute their materials. Handily organises courses and classes so that an entire course can be downloaded as an app at the touch of button.

ITunes

Wikiversity is a Wiki Foundation project, which supports learning communities,

Arguably the most famous education resource. Almost all Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

WikiVersity

Acquire the qualification by simply demonstrating your present level of experience? No. Qualification is by exam only. Exams are £114 each or less if purchased using a discount voucher scheme.

Guide is £22. Self-study with a dedicated online course and can that course be discounted? Yes. E-Careers offer a sevencourse online package including A+ for £79 via Groupon. Yes. LearnDirect offer an A+ equivalence course via online learning for £49

Self-study via materials freely available via the library or internet? Yes. Wikiversity (see below) or a hard copy of the A+ Study Guide.

Require tutor-led instruction? No.

Self-study via materials purchased second hand or online? Yes. Average cost of a Study

Require full time one-to-one instruction? No.

their learning materials, and resulting activities.

UK government

At present individuals aged over 19 who do not possess A Levels (or equivalents) can access a range of NVQs for free. See your IERO for more details.

First degree free or HEFE scheme

Those leaving the armed forces who do not possess a degree level qualification are entitled to trade in their Enhanced Learning Credits for a degree. (For more on ELCs see page 61) Steven Feeney is the author of the 100 Day System. He served in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. steven.feeney@ymail.com

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 23

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 25

»Your questions answered

LAURA JOINT

HOW TO BECOME SELF-EMPLOYED Welcome to Equipped’s new column, in which our reporter Laura Joint tackles key issues facing servicemen and women leaving the forces

Q: I’m thinking about becoming self-employed and setting up my own business, but after many years in the armed forces how do I know if I’m cut out for it? Self-employment is great for some people, but it doesn’t suit everyone. So before making the decision on whether or not to set up your own business, you will need to decide if it’s for you. Your personality traits and your preferred way of working are very important factors, and need to be taken into account even before you start to take practical steps. Some of the issues you need to consider are:

to get out of bed in the morning and get cracking. You will also get more support from other people, who see passion and positivity as attractive characteristics. You are more likely to win business if you possess and show these traits. ■■ Self-confidence. You need this in yourself; you must believe: ‘I can make this happen.’ You also need self-confidence in your business idea, believing that it will work out. Keep on believing. ■■ Personal drive. This is the ability to want to improve and succeed. To make progress, you will actively seek feedback, so you are able to learn what is required to make improvements to take your business to the next level. A desire to want to do better, to make changes where necessary, is important.

■■ Self-management. This is the ability to know yourself and manage yourself so that you have a great day, every day. We all have our very own formula for this. So if you are an extrovert, factor in time for friends; if keeping fit is important to you, then go for a run. Do what makes you feel good. This might seem obvious. But if you are working on your own, you need to be able to get the best out of yourself every day; this means doing those things that you know will help you towards this goal. ■■ Passion and energy. Being passionate about your business idea is essential, so that you want

Managing the transition to self-employment is critical. Going to work on a Friday and then waking up as selfemployed the following Monday morning is a cliffedge change. Ideally, you will be managing a gradual evolution in which your business starts as an acorn and develops into a healthy tree. Don’t expect a harvest in the first autumn. For this reason, the transition is more likely to succeed with the cushion of a redundancy payment or a partner who is happy to take some of the burden. Give it time…and enjoy it.

26 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Expert advice from Cathy Brown, Evolve Consulting Services ‘Testing the water’ practical guide series available on www.amazon.co.uk http://www.evolve.eu.com

Q: What practical steps do I need to take to set up a business and what help can I get? First of all, ask yourself if you have the necessary self-discipline – you can’t rely on anyone else driving your business; it’s all down to you. It can be a lonely and isolated existence and this can be hard if you are used to working within a bigger structure or in a team. Having established that this is something you want to do, the first practical step is to carry out thorough research. Even if your idea is good, you need to establish if there is space in the market. Set aside the time to do this research; talk to people with more experience than you, people who have already done it. This needn’t cost any money – it might be over a drink or coffee. Pick their brains. Find out what other people are offering and ask yourself: ‘What can I offer that’s different, that will make people do business with me?’ Once you’ve worked this out, you can move on to the next step.

Experience suggests that it takes one to two years to become established, so people generally need savings – enough money to sustain you for nine months at least. Don’t be in a rush – it’s about getting yourself known and building up trust. Word of mouth plays a big part during this period. You will find that you are working very hard, putting these building blocks in place, but without making any money at this point; working doesn’t necessarily mean earning. Take all the help that is available. There is a government website for businesses, which is a one-stop shop. Think about joining your local business group or chamber of commerce, where people can offer advice and help. This sort of support structure is extremely useful. And for members of the armed forces, there is a lot of assistance available from the CTP. Expert advice from David Thomas http://www. davidthomasmedia.com http://www.bis.gov.uk https://www.ctp.org.uk

Q: What about marketing? Marketing comes only after everything else is in place. Get your mind-set right first. Have a stable, pragmatic approach and understand the market and the business environment Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

you are working in. Are there factors which might impact on that business environment over which you have no control? Itemise set-up costs dispassionately – otherwise you may go down the wrong route. Get any contracts, licences and legal documents in place. Know about any regulations concerning your area of business. Seek advice. Is there a gap in the market? Think: ‘What is it I want to do?’ (you need to enjoy what you are doing!) and ask yourself: ‘Why do people need my business or product?’ And remember that you don’t have to set up your own business; you can acquire one. After proper planning, you will have a better chance of delivering. Only after you have completed the strategic part can you bring your idea to the market – and at this point, marketing becomes important. The questions to ask are: who will be your customers? It might be hundreds of people a year or a handful, depending on the type of business you have. Will you be working business to business, or business to customer? How and where you market your business will be different, depending on what sort of a business you have. What will best deliver your results? And what is the cost of that? The big thing to remember is that when it comes to marketing a business, one size doesn’t fit all. Expert advice: Paula George, George Business Consultancy Laura would love to hear from you and with the help of experts she will try her best to answer your transition questions. They don’t have to be work-related but can cover any aspect of such a lifechanging event. Please email the editor (jenny.hjul@ equippedmedia.co.uk) Next issue - how to write a CV Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

»Franchising

Brand new start

Follow a proven format if you want to set up a successful business

You are a business owner not an employee

Checklist Real franchise opportunities will need to be made up of all of the following: The business model needs to be proven for a minimum of 12 months; The proven business model needs to be the same as the franchise opportunity. This means that they haven’t proven a coffee cart outside of a train station, but you are looking to take on a large retail unit under the same brand; The brand will be protected by the franchisor to prevent unwanted misuse; The business model must be transferable, which means it can be duplicated in more than one location; Franchise opportunities need to be teachable and need to come with a training

programme to ensure new franchisees have the correct knowledge to operate the franchise. In some businesses this may be a very short training programme of a few days and some will be several months; Franchise opportunities will be supported by the franchisor in return for an ongoing management service fee (MSF) payable by the franchisee; The franchise opportunity will come with an operations manual, which sets out how the business operates and will provide all the details needed to ensure you run the business in line with the proven franchise model; Franchise opportunities are always tied together with a franchise agreement, which is the legal contract setting out commitment,

restrictions and termination clauses of the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee. This is a substantial document, which is nonnegotiable and weighted in favour of the franchisor. You will need a specialist franchise solicitor to review this: Finally, all franchise opportunities are opportunities for you to run your own business under agreement, using the franchisor’s brand, system, training and support. This means you are a business owner and not an employee. Any good franchise opportunity will make this clear and it will be structured in a way that allows you to build customer loyalty and brand awareness with your business locally. This becomes an asset that adds value to the business when you sell it.

For more information visit www.thebfa.org 28 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

SHUTTERSTOCK

ranchising is a means of starting and running your own business with a very high success rate, providing you choose a good franchise in the first place. A good franchise will offer you a proven business format with both the initial and continuing support that you will need. Your franchise will work under the brand established by your franchisor, using the business system they have developed and proven in the marketplace. You will pay an initial fee to set up the franchise and to allow you to use the brand and the format. And you will pay continuing fees for ongoing support that will help you to operate and allow you to build the franchise, eventually building a capital asset that you can sell. There are currently more than 900 franchisor brands in the UK, employing nearly 600,000 people in 40,000 outlets. Joining a franchise can create a new lifestyle, but you need to know if franchising is right for you and you are right for franchising. You also need to consider the options available. With so many businesses now adopting franchising you will need to spend time understanding which one is best. The British Franchise Association (BFA) is the self-regulatory body for the UK franchise industry, with a standards based approach to membership. Its aim is to promote ethical franchising practice in the UK and help the industry develop credibility, influence and favourable circumstances for growth. All businesses that are accredited by the BFA are proper business format franchises that have passed a strict set of standards to check that they are running realistic, sustainable and ethical franchise operations. However, there are a number of franchise companies that are not members. Some of these will never meet the standards; others will, but choose not to make the changes, or just choose not to be members . Your job is to be able to identify the good from the bad and the real franchises from the imitators. The first place to start is the BFA members’ directory. The association also offers legal and accountancy advice through its accredited professional advisers, and helps existing businesses which want to use the franchising method to grow or become more competitive.

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»Franchising

Chips are up

Former RAF officer’s earnings soar as his ‘man and a van’ enterprise grows

Paul Fabian

30 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

business, with two thriving ChipsAway CarCare Centres (fixed base workshops) on adjacent territories, a fleet of mobile units and a team of six employees. Out of uniform for 16 years, he finds ‘the planning side of things’ similar to being in the forces. ‘The realisation that spending 10 minutes at the start of each day planning and briefing staff can save you hours of wasted time later on, is very much an old RAF habit!’ His salary, however, is ‘vastly different’ to what he used to take home: ‘I now earn at least six times more than I did in the RAF – even allowing for indexation – and my business keeps going from strength to strength. This year was my busiest yet, and

I’m looking forward to an increase in turnover again in 2013. ‘ChipsAway is a great franchise,’ Paul says. ‘The support from head office is fantastic and I love being my own boss - having the independence to decide which way I want to take the business. ‘If I want to earn more, I can set my own targets and work to achieve them, rather than waiting for someone to promote me, or if I want to take eight or 10 weeks’ holiday in a year I can, knowing the business carries on without me. ‘I have no regrets whatsoever about becoming a ChipsAway franchisee. If you’re prepared to work hard, you really can achieve amazing results.’

Business mentor of the year CASE STUDY

ormer Royal Engineer Andy Darby is one of ChipsAway’s most successful franchisees. When he left the Army, Andy was looking for a practical, hands-on business with high earnings potential and a long term opportunity to grow. Some 12 years ago he started his ChipsAway business, like Paul Fabian, as a ‘man and a van’, but today operates a busy ChipsAway CarCare Centre, with two vans equipped as mobile workshops and a team of four employees across three territories. ‘Within a couple of months of first launching my ChipsAway franchise I was earning the same level of income I had as a soldier,’ says Andy. ‘Today, of course, I earn substantially more than that – in fact, I’m really making serious money now.’ Yet it’s not Andy’s rapid expansion, nor his reputation for outstanding customer service, that has secured recognition from the franchisor, but his contribution to the success of fellow franchisees joining the ChipsAway network. Andy has been named ‘Business Mentor of the Year 2012’. ChipsAway CEO Tim Harris said: ‘Andy’s commitment to ChipsAway

Andy and his drive to Darby build a great business provides a great role model for other franchisees. He is happy to share his experience and knowledge with newcomers, who find his infectious enthusiasm and unflagging encouragement a huge confidence builder. Andy is a worthy winner of this important award.’ Thanks to ChipsAway, Andy enjoys a great lifestyle, drives a top of the range sports car and estimates his take home earnings are around three times more than his previous salary. ‘I really enjoyed being a soldier, but I have no regrets whatsoever about investing in my own business. I certainly chose the best franchise and I have been very happy with my decision – being my own boss is great!’ Investment: £29,995+VAT For further information visit www.chipsaway. co.uk or call 0800 980 5951

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

CHIPSAWAY

he transition from military to civilian careers can seem daunting, but with the right support structure, training and business development, it needn’t be. Former Engineering Officer Flight Lieutenant Paul Fabian spent 13 years in the forces before taking voluntary redundancy from the RAF. Keen to be independent and to use the skills he had gained, Paul identified the perfect opportunity in ChipsAway, the UK’s original and market leading automotive paintwork repair franchise. ChipsAway removes scratches, bumps and scuffs to car paintwork and alloys on a same day basis, and at a fraction of the price of traditional body shop repair methods. Starting as a ‘man and a van’ franchise in 1999, Paul says: ‘I could see the potential of the franchise from the outset. I visualised that from initially being an owner operator, I would eventually develop my business and make a lot of money - and that’s exactly what I’ve done!’ Today Paul heads up a highly successful

Take it away! Pizza Hut Delivery ticked all the boxes for franchisee, as Trevor Johnson reports

A brand everyone knows

atest research continues to show that staying in really is the new going out. As consumer trends change, so do business opportunities and as more of us choose a night in over outside entertainment, the pizza market goes from strength to strength. Pizza Hut Delivery is on course to open more than 50 new stores in 2013 as part of its plan to eventually have at least 700 delivery franchises in the UK. In Oldham, Phil Skrynski has run the Pizza Hut Delivery franchise for the past year and, with business booming, he believes his original target of another 10 to 15 franchises within five years is still on track. ‘Even when times are hard, people still want a treat,’ he explains. ‘There’s a strong trend now for customers to order a pizza online and maybe watch a film and have a few drinks, rather than splash out on a night on the town.’ Phil adds: ‘We deliver around 80 per cent of our total orders, with at least 35 per cent coming via the website…a growing trend we’ve witnessed.’ Pizza Hut, the world’s largest pizza company, was founded in 1958 when brothers Frank and Dan Carney opened a modest 25-seat pizza restaurant in Wichita, Kansas. When it came to the name, the place looked like a hut and there was only room for nine letters on the sign. So Pizza Hut was born. Now there are over 13,000 Pizza Huts around the world and more than 75 per cent are franchise owned. Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut’s parent company, is the world’s largest restaurant chain with more than 37,000 locations in nearly 120 countries. In the UK, the first Pizza Hut restaurants opened in 1973 and the first delivery store in 1988. There are now over 300 Pizza Hut Delivery stores, as the pizza and pasta market continues to grow. Revenue in the UK was expected to reach £450 million by the end of 2012 and top performing franchises are turning over at least £16,000 per week per store. In line with its expansion plans, Pizza

Hut Delivery will open a further 100 stores by 2015. The company has launched an incentive programme worth £4.5 million to support franchisees in opening new stores. This offers up to £45,000 support to existing and new franchisees and up to £65,000 support for a second and subsequent store. (The incentive runs until November 2013.) On the face of it, Phil Skrynski, a tax accountant, was an unlikely candidate for a Pizza Hut franchise but his financial background meant he knew how to pick a winner. ‘I decided it was time for a career change and I wanted to run my own firm,’ he said. ‘I wanted a franchise that was a cash business with a good operating model and Pizza Hut seemed to tick all the boxes. It appealed to me for a number of reasons, including the fact it was unrepresented in the Oldham area. ‘Pizza Hut is a brand that everyone has grown up with. Taking on a franchise was something completely new to me and I had to learn the business from scratch. I’ve always enjoyed pizzas, but that’s very different from knowing how to make and sell them. ‘On the other hand, when you go into business it’s sensible to deal with something that is familiar. The Pizza Hut Delivery franchise business has improved massively in the past few years in terms of simplifying processes and getting things right. ‘I did a full training course at Pizza Hut, which was excellent and comprehensive, and then got practical experience by working in an existing franchise.’ A Pizza Hut franchise costs around £200,000 and franchisees are expected to fund at least 30 per cent of this, with the rest coming from borrowings. In return, new franchisees receive ongoing training and day to day support from Pizza Hut experts, plus help and guidance in key functions such as marketing, new product development and business systems. ‘It was a very steep learning curve,’ said Phil. ‘Of course you make mistakes but so long as you learn from them there’s always a positive side.’

SHUTTERSTOCK

Bright future

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

Electrics group give veterans helping hand to launch a business

ith more than 30 years’ experience in franchising, seven service industry brands and well over 1,600 franchisees worldwide, it’s safe to say that The Dwyer Group knows service industry franchising inside and out. According to Vance Parsons, franchise developer with Mr Electric, Dwyer’s UK operation based in Worcestershire, people come to the company for many reasons. ‘Some because their business has stalled and they need help breaking through to the next level. Others come seeking a way to compete on something other than price as they experience shrinking margins. ‘Many have come to us looking for ways to diversify their businesses, and to create more stable revenue streams. ‘And we have had new franchisees come to us from the corporate world, where either they were downsized or they just got tired of working for someone else.’ Vance said regardless of why they come, ‘we take each of them through a decision process that’s designed to help both the candidate and Mr Electric make a quality business decision about working together’. Mr Electric, which operates throughout the UK, has made its mark as a franchise organisation providing electrical installation and repair services for residential and commercial customers across the country. Since 1997, its professional electricians have been committed to getting it right the first time, and delivering the most comprehensive electrical services, including installation, rewire, and repair solutions. Jeff Meyers, the company’s president, said: ‘We have found that many small businesses suffer from

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 31

»Franchising not having qualified support and resources in areas such as accounting, marketing and sales, and have designed a training programme that provides each franchisee with qualified business consultants who coach them and help improve every aspect of a franchisee’s business.’ The group’s involvement with the armed forces goes back to the first Gulf War. In 1991 Dwyer developed VetFran in the United States to create business ownership opportunities for veterans. Since then, the programme has been adopted by 436 other franchisors and is now managed by the International Franchise Association. VetFran offers veterans a 25 per cent discount on their franchise fee to recognise their service and to help them get into business ownership. Now Mr Electric UK is going to extend this facility to all former members of British forces. ‘We’re proud to be helping veterans of HM Forces get started in business,’ said Vance Parsons. ‘We think franchising and ex-forces personnel are a great match because they are used to following proven systems and processes, and that’s exactly what a franchise provides.’ Mr Electric continues to invest in the tools and support its franchisees need to succeed. One area that stands out is tech-

Plugged in to proper training

nology. Mr Electric is offering integrated technology that provides automation in customer scheduling, job planning, pricing, invoicing and customer feedback. Jeff Meyers said: ‘This automation, along with dedicated franchisee support, provides a significant competitive advantage for our franchisees, as well as cost efficiencies. The more successful our franchisees are, the

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more successful we are. Our training programmes are some of the best in the industry, so whether you’re new to the industry or an industry veteran, we can plug you into the appropriate level of training.’ For more information visit www.leadingtheserviceindustry.com or call Mr Electric UK on 01527 574343.

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| Asset Protection | Risk Mitigation | Security Management |

CLOSE PROTECTION

TRAINING Level 3 close protection course

Our instructors are from military/police backgrounds and are still actively employed on assignments worldwide, taking time out to instruct on our courses. Our training facilities and accommodation allow for intense training and simulated exercises, using best practise methods and current equipment. As well as the Core modules, the training also includes trauma training and close protection driving techniques.

ACCREDITE D

ELC

TR A INING PROVIDER

Please contact us for more information on course dates and costs:

Email: pgw@milnemanagement.co.uk Call our head office: 0141 331 9960

Milne Management Ltd Security Services | Asset Protection | Risk Mitigation | Security Management |

www.milnemanagement.co.uk

Milne Management Ltd holds ACS for provision of security guarding services

»Security

CLOSE PROTECTION & MARITIME SECURITY

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 35

Risky business

Close protection is a natural career choice for former forces personnel but competition for jobs can be fierce

he private security industry has expanded rapidly in the past ten years and there are many companies that supply close protection training - but to ensure you find a bona fide trainer, do your research. Ask for testimonials and ask colleagues who have taken the step into this career before you. Courses range in price and as a rough guide vary from ÂŁ1,000 to ÂŁ3,000 With this in mind, look for training providers that are ELC accredited and CTP approved, and use your funding wisely. When leaving the armed forces and looking to progress your career within the close protection arena, you must complete an SIA (Security Industry Authority) accredited training course. It is compulsory for people to be licensed if they are working within the private security industry, protecting the public, so make sure your training provider has this accreditation. Being from a forces background can be an advantage, but with such an array of specialisms and specialist units entering the industry, competition to secure work in this field is fierce. This said, many courses are geared around the experience of forces personnel, and many are run by ex-forces personnel who have transferred their skills to the security industry. Close protection courses are intense and designed to put you under pressure; seasoned veterans will be watching, testing your

36 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

ability and judging you, not just on your previous military experience, but on your capacity to think quickly, solve problems and, most importantly, on your attitude. Protecting the public, or premises, or goods, is an important role and only those who are suitable, and have obtained a basic level of competency, should fulfil such a role. Security personnel who are either unsuitable or incompetent (or both) are a threat to the public. When considering a career in close protection do not be dazzled with the high salaries awarded - high salaries come at a high price and people with families often suffer. The very nature of this business is demanding, in high pressure and sometimes dangerous environments, and in most cases with long periods away from home. It is worth considering the above point carefully: you may have already been in these situations before in your career in the forces; when leaving do you wish to continue this lifestyle? Also worth remembering is that in most cases you will be self-employed and not have the safety blanket of support afforded to you while serving. Once your course is complete and you have qualified, you will not necessarily fall into the right job straight away. Becoming established on the close protection circuit can take time. You must be presentable, be tenacious in following up initial enquiries, and be prepared to network. Unless you are very lucky, work will not come to you â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you have to go out and find it.

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»Security

Guarding the guards A licence is the first step to becoming a professional writes the SIA’s Jessica Clinkett

he Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry. We are an independent body reporting to the Home Secretary, under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Our mission is to regulate the private security industry effectively; to reduce criminality, raise standards and recognise quality service. Our remit covers the UK. We have two main duties. One is the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities within the private security industry; the other is to manage the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme, which measures private security suppliers against independently assessed criteria. SIA licensing covers manned guarding (including security guarding, door supervision, close protection, cash and valuables in transit, and public space surveillance (CCTV), key holding and vehicle immobilising). Licensing ensures that private security operatives are ‘fit and proper’ persons who are properly trained and qualified to do their job. Our Approved Contractor Scheme intro-

duced a set of operational and performance standards for suppliers of private security services. Those organisations that meet these standards are awarded Approved Contractor status. This accreditation provides purchasers of private security services with independent proof of a contractor’s commitment to quality. We believe that a professional, regulated private security industry has the potential to become a valuable member of the extended police family, helping to reduce crime, disorder and the fear of crime.

Close protection

Anyone who is ‘guarding one or more individuals against assault or against injuries that might be suffered in consequence of the unlawful conduct of others’, and is supplied under a contract, needs to hold an SIA close protection licence. There are more than 10,650 valid close protection licences held in the UK.

Licensing

The criteria for front-line close protection operatives are as follows: ■■ A valid close protection licencelinked qualification;

Licensing of individuals is compulsory Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 37

■■ A valid close protection licence-linked qualification; ■■ Individuals have to provide proof of identity and age; ■■ A criminal record check is carried out; ■■ Individuals must have the right to work in the UK; ■■ Prior to applying for a licence, individuals need to have a valid first aid certificate.

There are a range of protection roles

When assessing a criminal record the SIA takes into account the seriousness and relevance of any offences and how long ago they occurred. The SIA’s website has an online ‘indicator’ where applicants with a criminal history can enter details of their convictions to obtain an early indication of whether or not they meet the criteria to obtain a licence.

Training

Applying for a licence

We have designed our licence application form and guidance notes to be as straightforward as possible. There are two ways to apply for a licence: Applicants can fill in their form online with our e-Fill service, which has built-in verification to reduce the likelihood of the form being completed incorrectly and returned to the applicant. Applicants fill in the form online, then print, sign and post it manually along with the required supporting documents and payment. The licence fee is £220 for a three-year licence. The licence fee covers the costs for the service of processing applications and issuing a licence, identity and criminality checking, publicity, enforcement of licensing and the contact centre.

Be aware of licence conditions The SIA licence comes with certain conditions which must be followed at all times. www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk. Find us on Facebook: Security Industry Authority. 40 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Plan ahead Top team offers tailored training that will help you get where you want to be

rom CCTV installations to tactical driving to guarding high-profile footballers, the scope in the security industry can offer lucrative careers for people coming out of the armed forces. ‘There are fantastic prospects because the work is so diverse,’ said Gary Williams, a former serviceman who set up Wilplan Training eight years ago. As if to illustrate his point students from Wilplan Training have found jobs in Russia, America, Europe and the Middle East, as well as closer to home, in roles as varied as setting up surveillance operations for the Department of Work and Pensions to full-time body-guarding wealthy clients as they move around the world. Based in Lancashire, Wilplan provides a range of training, including residential courses, leading to qualifications recognised by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and helping you get where you want to be. There are courses in close protection, surveillance, maritime security, advanced driving, personal safety training, first aid, firearms, conflict resolution and physical

intervention, among other things. The company can also tailor training programmes to specific requirements and Gary said his team has delivered bespoke training everywhere from Miami to Iraq, from Dubai to Indonesia. When Wilplan is approached by a client, Gary puts together a training needs analysis and then selects a team from its specialist trainers, based on the demands of the job. The training team has been assembled from an elite group of security experts, many of them ex-special forces, many having worked in hostile environments, in covert surveillance, and in fast response driving, protecting royalty, ministers, ambassadors, secret intelligence service (SIS) case officers and other dignitaries throughout the world. They have worked everywhere from the high risk areas of the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and all are ex-military except one former police officer who spent 20 years in the Metropolitan Police, much of that time in royal protection. The Wilplan Training team has drivers, experts in medical trauma, and tropical medicine, and at the cutting edge of security Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

SHUTTERSTOCK

The training courses are delivered by independent training providers or further education colleges approved and overseen by SIA endorsed awarding organisations. To get one of the qualifications linked to close protection licensing you will need to attend and take two training modules and take and pass an exam. The training should take 138 hours and the training programmes cover essential and appropriate skills, such as roles and responsibilities, appropriate behaviour, civil and criminal law, search, arrest or patrol procedures, dealing with incidents, crime scene prevention, emergency procedures, communication, and conflict management.

»Security

We are proud to be able to help our armed services in their career progression whilst still serving or on leaving the military

management among its instructors but Gary said when he left the services the general standard of resettlement training was low. ‘That’s why I started my own business…I thought this can be done better,’ he said. Courses that provided qualifications but did not necessarily train people for employment fell short of the mark, he felt, and this is something he has tried to address in his own company. Wilplan focuses on job opportunities and trainers discuss employment prospects with the 1,000 or so students it trains each year, putting them in touch with the agencies and companies that regularly recruit its graduates. Courses in themselves do not guarantee employment but Wilplan does guarantee that ‘the work is out there’. Its students have secured jobs worldwide and are employed as valued team members, team leaders and operations managers. Gary said people tend to have perceptions before they begin training about what they want to do but once they have been through a course ‘they open up their ideas and consider other options’. ‘Ideally,’ he said, ‘they need to be able to work in any environment.’ This could mean overseeing a hospital’s security system, patrolling the red carpet at film premieres, providing permanent close protection for a top banker and his family, or embarking on high-risk work in hostile environments, whether that is on land or in anti-piracy units.

HOW MUCH CAN I EARN?

Newly trained close protection officers can expect to earn £100 to £200 a day on average, increasing as your experience grows, but pay depends on: ■■ How long the contract is for; ■■ Who the client is; ■■ Where the contract is; ■■ Your experience and qualifications.

This last area is one that demands previous military training – ‘you can’t provide combat experience commercially’ said Gary – although some students enrol on courses from professions such as the police, customs and prison service. For service leavers there is financial assistance for training as Wilplan is an approved ELC training provider and is also an MoD approved supplier through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) ‘With many of our instructors being exmilitary themselves we are exceptionally proud to be able to support our armed services in their career progression whilst still serving or on leaving the military,’ says the company. For more information visit www.wilplantraining.co.uk

Back on the front line CASE STUDY

J SHUTTERSTOCK/WILPLAN

ez Taylor joined The Blues and Royals Regiment in 1987 at the age of 16 and served for almost nine years, with operational tours of Bosnia

and Cyprus. He then became a policeman with Surrey Police in a 15-year career that included stints as a response driver and Special Escort Group motorcyclist and driver, and was involved in planning the escorts and routes for royal and VIP visits to the county. At the age of 40 he embarked on a new career in security. Jez said: ‘Having served in both the military and the police, I saw this as the next step in my career. Having never lost the 16-year-old soldier’s attitude of get up and go, and being slightly regimented, once I left the police I was itching to get

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back to front line duties wherever I could. This path seemed the next logical step.’ He found that the discipline of being able to work both as part of a team and individually with minimal supervision was invaluable. His military and police careers had also taught him much about having respect for various cultures and religions, which he says helps in the work he does now. Asked whether it was a steep learning curve to start again Jez said ‘there is always something new to learn…whoever says they know everything is wrong’. ‘My past history has helped a great deal, especially on the CP course that I attended with Wilplan Training. I was able to share

knowledge and experiences and receive knowledge and experiences from others.’ The training course, a required element prior to obtaining an SIA licence, was very helpful, he said. ‘The instructors were either ex-military or ex-police with a Jez vast knowledge of the Taylor security industry.’ After acquiring his licence he took on ‘some quite interesting tasks’, including large scale site security surveys before the 2012 Olympics. But he said he wanted to get back to front line work and since September he has been employed as a close protection operative for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British Embassy in Kabul. ‘All the best to anyone and everyone looking at coming into this business,’ said Jez.

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 41

Ronin Concepts, the international market leaders in High Risk & Executive Close Protection training. All our instructors are former UK Special Forces with proven real-time skills and experience. Ronin Concepts is dedicated to providing the best security training services available in the market place today. Our knowledge is vast, our operational experience is extensive and above all our commitment is absolute. Close Protection & FPOS training are fully accredited with EDEXCEL enabling course candidates to apply for their SIA licence. Training throughout is held in HEREFORD, those completing the Hostile Environment Close Protection module will continue their working adventure in Poland at the end of week three. We are able to accept enhanced learning credits and our provider number is 2288. Please see the website or call the office for further details and advice, where our admin staff will be happy to talk you through military resettlement and other sources of funding. tel: 01981

251855

email: theoffice@roninconcepts.co.uk

www.roninconcepts.co.uk

Close Protection Training

Free Open Days Strictly Limited Places

Covert Surveillance Training

T: 0845 0095647 T: + 44 (0) 1257 733003

BTEC Level 3 Award in Close Protection Operations. 21 Day Fully Residential course that includes Firearms and BTEC Level 2 FPOSi with tactical medicine. BTEC Level 3 in Foot & Mobile Surveillance. 5 Day Intense training in Covert Surveillance and Investigations. Can be Combined with BTEC Level 3 & RoSPA Advanced Driving

Maritime Security Officer (MSO) Training

info@wilplantraining.co.uk WilplanTraining.co.uk

Our MSO courses are in line with the ISPS code and are MCA accredited. This course includes the STCW95, SSO and FPOSi qualifcations. In addition you will receive a Certificate in Designated Security Duties & Counter Piracy Operations.

RoSPA & BTEC Level 3 Advanced Driving Course

The course is designed around the needs for security driving, Close Protection and Surveillance Operations. It also includes skid car training.

Your Success is our Future

Our team are always on hand to answer any questions. Call us now to receive your free information pack

42 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

C O U R S E S AVA I L A B L E • SSO: Ships security officer and anti piracy Module £325 + VAT • FPOS: First Person on scene intermediate • Trauma Medic Course £115 + VAT • STCW95: Standards of Training, Certification and watch keeping. All Modules £550 + VAT • Anti-Piracy Course £350 + VAT

BECOME A MARITIME SECURITY C O N S U LT A N T Courses are held at land & sea in the Glasgow Area. Students may be identified for positions with Britannia after successfully completion of courses.

2 WEST REGENT STREET | GLASGOW | G2 1RW | +44 141 2063720 | info@britanniamaritimesecurity.com

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Safe and Secure Training

Professional Close Protection Training In the pursuit of excellence BTEC level 3 SIA approved C.P course that includes conﬂict management, escorting duties, tactical driving, medical crisis response & more, at state of the art facilities. Our professional instructors have vast experience from both special forces & the military police. Other courses Hostile Environment And Tactics (HEAT) F/Pos basic & intermediate, Advanced medical training, surveillance & advanced driving.

ELC’s & SLC’s accepted. Please e-mail or phone with any queries. Website: www.safeandsecuretraining.co.uk E-Mail: info@safeandsecuretraining.co.uk Tel number: 01633 270982 /0845 5049009

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APPROVED BY MoD IN SUPPORT OF THE ELC SCHEME

E LC

PROVIDER NUMBER

4260

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 43

Courses that give former servicemen the edge in a competitive jobs market

aul Wiggins set up Milne Management in 1997 after working for 10 years as a close protection officer in the United States. He won’t say what the job involved exactly, other than it was for a ‘high valued client’, but it helped that he had been in the Marines for 10 years before that. Now he trains others, both at his company base in Glasgow and at a residential centre in Troon on the west coast of Scotland. Here, students are instructed by experienced security professionals, most of whom are current operators as well, who put them through their paces ‘night and day’ to cover the requisite hours of course work and the physical skills they will need to get licensed. When Paul entered the ‘circuit’, as the 44 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

industry is known by insiders, it was unregulated but since 2007 anyone operating in the UK must have SIA qualifications. ‘The industry has moved on a bit,’ said Paul, who says he learnt how to be a bodyguard on the job. Although much security work will be overseas, often in places where licences are not necessary, British companies like Milne observe the standards set by the SIA and insist on hiring licensed operatives only. Milne’s operational wing is called Sentinel Close Protection (Sentinel CP) and from here personnel are recruited for jobs in close protection around the world. Sentinel, with its database of skilled professionals, can provide bespoke security solutions, from the protection of individu-

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Circuit training

als to event management, and from residential security to worldwide travel. Paul says he sometimes ‘cherry picks’ the best two or three candidates on a course if he needs extra personnel – for work in the Cayman Islands, for instance, or protecting media barons or other high-profile customers. But on the circuit ‘everyone knows everyone else’ and usually a few phone calls within the extended network is all it takes to fill positions. If a job comes in, Milne has a list of professionals and can match skills to specific demands. Some clients are very particular, asking for certain individuals, or teams they have used in the past or, perhaps, all Marines. Whatever the request, Paul tries to comply. He sees mostly former servicemen (who can use their ELCs on Milne Management’s courses) and also personnel from the police or customs, people who have had experience in security and who are prepared to go abroad if necessary. He hesitates when asked if he would ‘do it all over again’ himself, saying that thanks to the defence cuts there is now a glut of

»Security Most teams are made up of ex-Royal Marines

Harness your skills

Former soldier used Army as business model to build his booming consultancy

While relevant experience in the services is important, rank is not men looking for careers in security. Ocean Marshalls, the anti-piracy division of the company, is inundated with requests for work. ‘We have at least 800 CVs and our staff get calls on a daily basis from men looking for jobs in the industry.’ Ocean Marshalls sends teams of armed guards through the Indian Ocean to protect shipping and crews from mainly Somali pirates but there is not work for everyone. ‘There is a lot of competition for jobs,’ says Paul, ‘and you can’t just walk straight into it from the services.’ He said those most likely to find work will have already completed offshore survival and navigational courses before they come to Milne for training and will understand what’s required to give them the edge. Most teams are made up of ex-Royal Marines but while relevant experience in the services is important, rank, says Paul, is not. For more information visit www. milnemanagement.co.uk, www.sentinelcp.com or www.oceanmarshalls.com Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

ob Cole joined the Army aged 15 when there was still a boys’ service and left as an RSM after 27 years, six of them in the Royal Engineers and the rest in the Special Air Services. He set up in business in 2003 as a selfemployed sole trader, providing security in Iraq for the BBC and the Foreign Office. While the military will provide protection for some people - ambassadors, for example - other security requirements, from controlling access to buildings to guarding individuals, are contracted out to private companies. His business developed from then on and he hired local people, as well as exmilitary colleagues. Now Minimal Risk offers security risk assessment and reviews to clients worldwide, it provides project management, depending on what a customer wants, runs a recruitment service for security professionals, and protects individuals and their property. Bob says the company was ‘an overnight success in seven years!’ He employs 46 people, among them a big administration team to sort out visas and look after staff welfare and so on, and he has about another 60 to 70 others on contracts. ‘We replicate what we had in the military – that’s my business model,’ said Bob. ‘We provide the equivalent back-up we had in the Army and we’ll do what needs to be done to get the job done.’ He says the nature of security work harnesses all the military skills. He has a network of logistics experts, intelligence analysts and transport people. Nearly all his staff are ex-military because ‘they are reliable people and you know what you’re getting,’ he said. However, the recruitment procedure at Minimal Risk is not an old boys’ network far from it, said Bob. It is a very formal process which enables him to market the former servicemen and women who approach his company. He studied marketing with the Open University while he was still serving but he acknowledges that military people don’t sell themselves well and sees it as his job to do that for them. The first step to working for Minimal Risk is to register, free, on the company’s website. Bob compiles a

database from the electronic CVs he receives and when a client asks him to put a team together he can match the skills at his disposal to the job’s requirements. Although he has major generals, brigadiers and submarine captains on his books, he says sometimes it is the straightforward corporal who is best suited to a particular job, so he has a good look at everyone. Bob’s wife Jill, a former teacher, heads up recruitment and he has other women working for him but he says there is a shortage of good female close protection officers. Some clients prefer women in their security detail because they can be more diplomatic, said Bob. There are plenty of opportunities in the business, he believes, and his advice to service leavers is to broaden their outlook. ‘All military skills are applicable…and the rewards are there’ if people are prepared to travel and understand what the job entails. He has clients in Kurdistan, Tunisia, the Middle and Far East, East Africa and in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as in the armed forces, people can be sent overseas at short notice. Now 58, and in command of a multi-million pound enterprise, Bob has no intention of slowing down. ‘After 27 years being told what to do, I like working for myself,’ he said. Besides, ‘there is always something going on’. For more information about Minimal Risk Consultancy visit www.minimalrisk.co.uk

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 45

»Security

Britannia rules

Training in a Scottish loch for the dangers of anti-piracy patrols Trained to manage risk As real as possible

46 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

ing commercial standards and demonstrating the personal values that will enable them to build good relationships with captains and crew at sea. Stuart says that while the Navy is increasingly over-stretched, the demand from merchant shipping for protection is growing. There are an estimated 30,000 ships passing through the Suez Canal and with pirate activity in the Indian Ocean and

He is careful to employ only those who have the right temperament

South China Sea, there is more need than ever for private maritime security services. ‘We invest in the expertise of our management team, chosen for their experience in the security industry, shipping and business to protect those who work at sea and in the most difficult environments,’ said Stuart. For more information visit www. britanniamaritimesecurity.com

DETECTION AND PROTECTION

DOG HANDLING COURSES

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BRITANNIA

ritannia Maritime Security offers a full complement of security services to train crews and protect vessels anywhere in the world. Led by former serviceman Stuart Niven, and with a team of ex-military security specialists, Britannia provides risk assessments, armed and unarmed services, vessel escorts, oil asset and equipment audits, and anti-piracy solutions. Stuart trains his men on a tranquil loch in Scotland, near the company’s Glasgow base, to prepare them for the dangers of pirate patrolled seas. ‘We make the drills as real as possible,’ said Stuart, ‘so that we can gauge how our guys will react under pressure.’ Although his men might encounter armed bandits on ships, they are trained to deal with potentially explosive situations calmly, abiding by the law and issuing warnings before resorting to firepower. Britannia has about 80 former servicemen on its books and they are contracted by shipping companies to safeguard their precious cargo through some of the world’s most perilous shipping lanes. Somali pirates attacked 400 ships in 2011, hijacking more than 100. They can earn millions in ransom money and have become much better organised in recent years. But the presence of armed guards policing the high seas, many of them working for British security firms such as Britannia, has resulted in a slight reduction in the number of incidents of piracy. However, the risks to shipping remain high and Stuart says Britannia is careful to employ only those who are used to managing risk – and have the right temperament. That includes being able to work to exact-

MARITIME SECURITY TRAINING

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The Trident MSO Offshore Professional programme offers the complete training package for those wishing to enter the private maritime security industry. With the correct qualifications and skills, the benchmark is set at the highest industry standard. Our courses have proven to lead to employment opportunities, with high quality employers that recognise our training standard as the industry lead.

WEEK 1 MODULE 1: TRIDENT Maritime Security Operator (MSO) Course duration: 5 days University-accredited short course Course Content: Task specific maritime security training in readiness, response and recovery activities aligned to IMO Model course 3.23 and the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers. Theory-based learning and practical exercises conducted on a commercial vessel. Qualification: University Accredited Trident MSO Certificate with 5 FHEQ Level 4 academic credits. Assessment: Pass/Fail written exam. Entry Prerequisites: Minimum 5 years military or law enforcement service.

Price: £690.00 +VAT WEEK 2 MODULE 2a: TRIDENT Maritime Trauma Course (TMTC) Course duration: 3 days practical ship-borne trauma course Course Content: Specific focus purely on effective non-invasive trauma support and prolonged care. Qualification: University Certificate and 10 academic credits Assessment: Written exam, reflective practice and final exercise on a commercial vessel. Entry Prerequisites: Students must hold the Trident MSO qualification, or be enrolled onto a Trident MSO course and also hold a basic first-aid certificate, such as STCW EFA or equivalent.

Price: £470.00 +VAT WEEK 2 MODULE 2b: TRIDENT Radar and Navigation Course duration: 2 days classroom and practical exercises. Course Content: RYA Radar and Basic Chart Navigation training. Qualification: RYA Radar Training Certificate and Trident Maritime Navigation Certificate of Achievement Assessment: Written exam and practical assessment.

Price: £250.00 +VAT WEEK 3 MODULE 3: STCW 95 Basic Safety Training delivered by PHSS Ltd. Course duration: 5 days Course Content: Personal Survival Techniques, Elementary First-Aid, Personal Safety and Social Responsibility, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting. Qualification: MCA accredited STCW 95 Basic Safety Training Certificates. Entry prerequisites: Students must hold the Trident MSO qualification, or be enrolled onto a Trident MSO course.

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»Aerospace

Take off!

From Second World War pilots to today’s top engineers, training experts have always set high standards

f you want to transfer your skills to the civil aviation world, Air Service Training (AST) has the expertise to set you in the right direction. AST chief executive Peter Farrow said: ‘All bar one of our lecturers and all our managers are from a military background so we know exactly the challenges service leavers face and do our utmost to help them on the path they’ve chosen. We have great empathy with what they’re going through.’ The company was started in 1931 on the basis that it could tratin pilots needed by the RAF, and during the Second World War it trained 40,000 UK and Allied servicemen – pilots, engineers and air traffic control officers. It also repaired 3,000 Spitfires during the war. Set up by automotive and aviation industry magnate John Davenport Siddeley, later First Baron Kenilworth, AST was made part of the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1934. The company has an impressive list of former students, having trained such famous aviators as Mrs Victor Bruce, the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe; Amy Johnson, famous for her recordbreaking flights to Australia and Japan; and Sir Alan Cobham, founder of the famous ‘flying circus’ and the Cobham Company, still trading internationally today. From its earliest beginnings in Hamble, Hampshire, AST has focused on delivering high quality training and ensuring the most stringent of safety standards. In 1960 the engineering school was bought by Airwork Services and moved to Perth aerodrome in Scotland, where it has remained ever since. Since 1996 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Perth College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Millennium Institute, with an emphasis on training aeronautical engineers towards licensing, together with the development of academic aeronautical engineering awards up to Bachelor of

50 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

We know exactly the challenges service leavers face and do our utmost to help them on the path they have chosen

Engineering (BEng) degree level. Teaching pilots and engineers for two of the most demanding professions in the world requires a very special approach and complete dedication to the highest safety standards and AST is the training provider of choice for many international organisations. AST is well versed in the requirements Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

The most demanding profession in the world

Training provision

hought to be the longest established organisation of its type, AST had approval for its training courses from both the United Kingdom Air Registration Board and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

This tradition of excellence has continued to the present day, and it now holds approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to deliver training and examinations to meet the requirements of the Part 66 aircraft maintenance licence (AML). Since 1998 it has awarded more than 4,000 Certificates of Recognition to successful graduates.

AST provides a range of training programmes that meet the industry need for Propel aeronautical your engineering staff, and skills offers approved training to meet the requirements of the AML in all currently available categories, as follows; ■■ A1 Certifying Mechanic Turbine Aeroplanes ■■ A2 Certifying Mechanic Piston Aeroplanes ■■ A3 Certifying Mechanic Turbine Helicopters ■■ A4 Certifying Mechanic Piston Helicopters ■■ B1.1 Certifying Technician Turbine Aeroplanes ■■ B1.2 Certifying Technician Piston Aeroplanes ■■ B1.3 Certifying Technician Turbine Helicopters ■■ B1.4 Certifying Technician Piston Helicopters ■■ B2 Certifying Technician Avionic

for delivery of training and examinations at overseas sites under the second site approval process, and already has second site approvals in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, Cyprus, Kuwait, Malta, Malaysia, Bahrain and the People’s Republic of China. Today, graduates of AST are working around the world as engineers, a signifiGo to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

cant number of them as CEOs or chief engineers for major airlines. Peter Farrow said students come to AST from all over the country, many of them from the RAF but also from the REME and the Fleet Air Arm. The staff of 26 at AST will see ‘hundreds’ of service leavers in a year, he said, either training for mechanical or aviation

licences, building on the skills they have already acquired throughout their training in the services. AST is registered to accept ELCs via Perth College UHI, and is a preferred supplier to the Career Transition Partnership. For more information visit www.airservicetraining.co.uk January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 51

This is your opportunity We offer a range of Aircraft Engineering academic qualifications from HNC to BEng (Hons) at Perth College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).

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Civilian Aircraft Refueller? As the National Supplier for the majority of the Into Plane Refuelling companies within the UK, Monarch Personnel will require additional personnel, who want to be Civilian Refuellers, at many of the airports throughout the UK in 2013. The successful applicants need not have previous refuelling experience. You will, however, need to hold an LGV1 C+E licence (Heathrow and Gatwick require LGV 2) with no bans and no more than 3 active penalty points. You will also need good customer services skills, the ability to follow strict processes and procedures and to display a strong awareness of Health and Safety.

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Perth College is a registered Scottish charity, number SC021209.

AIR SERVICE TRAINING Air Service Training, based in Perth, Scotland is approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to offer training and examinations to meet the requirements of the IR Part 66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence, in all currently available A & B Categories. In addition to individual modules, we offer integrated programmes of 23 weeks (B1) or 26 weeks (B2) at greatly reduced fees. AST is registered through Perth College UHI for ELCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. AST also delivers courses to meet the requirements of The EASA Part FCL Pilot licence, in partnership with a flight training provider. Air Service Training (Engineering) Limited Brahan building, Crieff Road, Perth, Scotland, PH1 2NX

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ÂťAerospace

Great grounding Degree provides basis for wide range of career opportunities within the aviation industry

he Aircraft Engineering Department at Perth College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), offers a range of academic qualifications, from Higher National Certificate (HNC) to a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree delivered through a four-year programme at the Perth campus. The BEng (hons) Aircraft Engineering undergraduate degree provides a recognised qualification that prepares graduates working towards Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. Students can choose from two routes: during the final two years you can tailor your study to give your engineering development a bias towards careers in the aircraft operations and maintenance industry, or aircraft design industry. The programme also offers exit qualifications after each year of study to accommodate early leavers. Mainly delivered on a full-time basis, the course is taught by an enthusiastic team of aviation specialists who have many years of practical experience within all aspects of the sector, including engineering maintenance operations, aircraft design, maintenance

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

planning and support engineering. The first year of the programme, which is also available through distance learning, leads to an HNC Aircraft Engineering Level 7 qualification. Other exit routes on the full-time programme include a diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) after successful completion of year two, and a BEng ordinary degree at the end of year three. The university has ambitious plans for postgraduate provision and, subject to approval, will provide a number of new courses, including an MSc in Air Transport Operations and Management and an MBA in Aviation from September 2013. A key feature of the programme is exposing students to practical aircraft engineering activities through in-house delivery and visits to industry partners. The Aircraft Engineering department has access to first class practical resources located in a dedicated training hangar at Perth Airport, where students have the opportunity to undertake maintenance tasks on a range of aircraft, uninstalled engines and structural components. Through a proactive approach to industry engagement, there is a good relationship with a number of regional

and national industry partners across both operations and design sectors. Visits to these organisations are a regular feature throughout the programme to supplement the academic requirements of the course. There has also been investment in engineering software packages, allowing students to explore aircraft design aspects, including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and 3-dimensional modelling. The department also carries out research and consultancy, and recently fulfilled a contract with the Lotus Renault GP Formula 1 team. Your BEng (hons) in Aircraft Engineering should make you qualified and eligible to apply for a wide range of career opportunities within the aviation industry, whether this is in the air transport operations sector or the design sector. The array of high-level transferrable knowledge and skills that you have accumulated throughout your degree will also allow you to compete for employment positions in engineering industries other than aviation. For more information please contact neil.pickthall@perth.uhi.ac.uk

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 53

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Changing Scotland’s energy landscape is no small feat, even for one of the world’s largest energy companies. It takes decades, billons of pounds and skills like yours. We’re revolutionising the way we transport electricity to millions of homes and businesses – not only maintaining and upgrading substation equipment and hundreds of kilometres of power lines, but also creating new connections to boost capacity and make Scotland’s renewable ambition a reality. In short, we have huge engineering challenges ahead. So, whether designing the next section of our network or delivering the next stage of our programme, you’ll need to bring proven engineering expertise, an enviable track-record in large-scale projects and the kind of ambition that’s right at home in a company with plans like ours. We’re making an investment in our future. Make an investment in yours – visit www.spenergynetworksjobs.com to find out more.

A decade-long plan, £6bn investment in electrical networks and hundreds of electrical engineering opportunities. Be a part of our energy future.

54 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

BRITAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RAILWAY NEEDS MORE HEROES. Hundreds of ex-Forces people have built successful, long-term and rewarding careers with us. You could be one of them. Visit networkrail.co.uk/careers

Network Rail welcomes applications from a diverse range of candidates regardless of background, disability or gender and is committed to creating a workforce as diverse as the communities we serve.

On the right track Network Rail’s expansion plans offer job opportunities for skilled service leavers

lans announced by Network Rail early in January to invest £37.5 billion in Britain’s railways are good news for those seeking employment in transport engineering. Network Rail, which is responsible for running, maintaining and developing the country’s rail infrastructure, already has a 16,000-strong maintenance team with many more engineering roles across the company. The new proposals will include extensive electrification schemes on the Great Western and Midland mainlines, and station improvements at Birmingham New 56 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

Street. Some £560 million will be spent on a project known as the Northern Hub, improving links between Manchester and other major northern cities. Reading Station in Berkshire will be rebuilt at a cost of £900 million, and 31 miles of railways in Scotland that were closed under the Beeching cuts of 50 years ago will be reopened. The programme, due to be completed in 2019, will involve huge recruitment opportunities and service leavers could be in the front line of future employment drives. Network Rail values the knowledge engi-

neers from a non-railway background bring to the business and targets service leavers ‘with good communication skills and a great work ethic’. The company says: ‘The skills and experience you will have picked up in the forces are easily transferable to the kind of work we do. The big connection is safety. You’ll know that keeping yourself and your colleagues safe is top priority in the forces. And it is for us too.’ There is a wide range of jobs a former forces engineer can do in Network Rail. A project engineer, for instance, Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

»Transport »IT and engineering telecoms

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 57

»Transport engineering You could be working on challenging but rewarding projects which are perfect for ambitious engineers

Working with big kit

will monitor design consultants and contractors, provide management advice on construction and site supervision, and will audit contractors for safety. He, or she, will make sure appropriate engineering standards are adhered to, and environmental concerns are addressed from start to finish. Whether you have been used to a fieldbased environment, working with big kit in all weathers, or you have been desk-based, involved in planning and analysis, strategic design, systems, or electrical engineering, the company may have the right career opportunity for you. Just like the forces, Network Rail relies on a number of support functions and there are plenty of jobs outside engineering, such as commercial management, finance, human resources, legal, and project management. Several ex-servicemen have ended up in training roles. Some more recent appointees from the armed forces have gone straight into Network Rail’s professional development and training arm. There are currently job vacancies across the country in engineering and maintenance, at several different levels with competitive pay structures. ‘From major architectural developments to simple overnight repairs, everything we do requires expertise and efficiency,’ says Network Rail. ‘You could be working on challenging but rewarding projects, like the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station or Reading station, which are perfect for ambitious engineers.’

Benefits

At Network Rail you will be entitled to a host of benefits, including:

■■ subsidised rail travel (75 per cent, up to £2,250 maximum) on rail or underground season tickets; ■■ interest-free season ticket loans for travel and car parking; ■■ 28 days’ annual leave, plus the option to buy up to two extra days or sell up to five days per year; ■■ a company bonus scheme; ■■ a choice of three contributory pension schemes; ■■ charitable giving schemes, including company contributions; ■■ a range of other benefits, including childcare vouchers and volunteer leave. For further information visit www.networkrail.co.uk/careers 58 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 59

Come and join us...

NEW LOOK

NEW FUTURE Where it’s not just about clothes and fashion! International fashion retailer offers a wealth of opportunity to motivated Individuals. With over 1000 stores in the UK, mainland Europe, the Middle East and Asia and three offices across the UK - New Look is fuelled by over 25,000 amazing people. We’re proud to call ourselves a team, together, we challenge convention and we want you to add your voice and imagination to our mission. New Look is proud to support the Veterans Interview Programme launched in the House of Commons in July 2012. We understand that ex service personnel can bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills to the work force including being well organised, solid communicators and working under pressure. We’re constantly working to improve our business and always on the look out for people from a variety of backgrounds who can bring along a unique skill set and experience to New Look. Are you a natural leader? Customer service is at the heart of what we do. If you’re a natural leader with a passion for customer service. New Look can offer you an exciting and rewarding career both in store or behind the scenes. With offices in London and Weymouth and two state of the art Distribution Centres in Newcastle Under Lyme, there really are exciting opportunities for all at New Look.

Here are just some of the key functions which make us tick…

9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

IT E-Commerce Supply chain International Audit & Risk Project Management Finance, property Procurement Engineering Merchandising Buying Marketing Human Resources Logistics Business Support Retail Management

To view all of our current vacancies please go to:

www.newlookcareers.co.uk We regret that we cannot reply to every application personally.If you have been successful you will be contacted by a member of the recruitment team.

Good luck! The military influence is so this season!

»»Resettlement Resettlement

COURSE OF ACTION

Squadron Leader Mark Norey explains how to use ELCs

he MoD promotes lifelong learning among members of the armed forces and this is encouraged through the Learning Credits scheme. The Standard Learning Credit (SLC) scheme, which supplies financial support throughout service careers for multiple, small-scale learning activities, is designed to enhance educational or vocational achievement. Personnel may claim 80 per cent of course fees, up to a maximum of £175 per financial year, paid to civilian bodies for certain personal development courses, examinations and support. The Enhanced Learning Credits scheme (ELC) pays towards the cost of higher level learning and is funded by the single services. Eligible personnel make a personal contribution of 20 per cent of the total course fees and can receive a single payment, in each of a maximum of three separate financial years, of up to £1,000 or

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

£2,000 (depending on qualifying scheme membership) to cover up to a maximum of 80 per cent of course fees. The ELC scheme helps motivate members of the armed forces to pursue their personal development, both during their service and for up to 10 years afterwards, subject to the qualifying criteria being met. In addition, in July 2008 the government made a commitment (Further and Higher Education Commitment) to providing service leavers with access to a first full Level 3 (GCE A Level or vocational equivalent) or a first higher education qualification (a first foundation degree or first undergraduate degree or equivalent) free from tuition fees.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

To join the ELC scheme you must have completed and submitted an application form either in your first 12 months from enlistment or in the window between eight and eight and a half years from enlistment.

Application forms must arrive with ELCAS within one calendar month of the end of your chosen registration window. Personnel with interrupted service must complete and submit a non-continuous service form with their registration. This may include time spent as full-time reserve service personnel and non regular permanent staff.

HOW TO SELECT A COURSE

A key stage of making a claim is choosing a suitable course and provider. Your chosen organisation must be an ELC approved provider and the only definitive list of these is available from the ELCAS website. It is also important to note that approved providers apply to offer specific courses through the scheme – not all courses offered by them are therefore eligible for ELC support. All claim forms received by ELCAS for any provider who is not fully

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 61

»Resettlement approved, at the time of receipt of the claim, will be returned to the authorising MoD education officer. So, check and double check that your provider and the course is approved by the scheme. Not all courses run by approved providers are of the required level. If you are looking to take a publicly funded further or higher education course at a college or university, your chosen organisation must also be an approved provider. Guidance on this funding is detailed below and a search facility for these providers is available on the ELCAS website.

SUBMIT YOUR CLAIM

It is your responsibility (with advice and guidance from an education and resettlement adviser) to determine the best way to optimise the funding available to pay for learning leading to a qualification, so do make sure that you fully research both the provider and the course that you wish to study. Claim forms can be downloaded from the ELCAS website and your line manager must complete part four of the form (authorisation to register for learning activity) and your education staff must complete part five (verifying that your chosen course meets MoD requirements for ELC funding). Once approved, you will receive a Claim Authorisation Note (CAN) which must be presented to your chosen provider before your course start date. If for any reason you do not undertake the course you must submit a request to cancel/reinstate the claim. Failure to do so may result in the loss of scheme membership, which will prevent any future claims. Keep a copy of your CAN as you will need the reference numbers for completing your evaluation from.

FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITMENT

First you need to talk to your education and resettlement adviser. Next, download the PF (publicly funded) FE/HE claim from the ELC website - only this version can be used. Then check the ELCAS database of approved PF FE/HE providers If you wish to use a new provider ensure they will be eligible to participate in this scheme (they must deliver publicly funded FE/HE) and ask them to apply for scheme membership as per the information on the ELC website. As with the current ELC scheme, try not to leave everything to the last minute. Allow time for any new providers to be accepted on to the scheme. Once accepted you can submit your application. Allow at least eight weeks to go through this process – more if possible. Leaving it too close to the wire may result in your application not being processed in time for the start of your course. 62 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

NO LONGER IN SERVICE

The funding options detailed above present armed forces personnel with a unique opportunity to add to their learning and aid their professional development. If you take good care in selecting your learning provider and completing your application you can truly maximise the benefits of the ELC scheme.

■■ In England and Wales, a qualification at Level 3 (A level and equivalent) and above as defined by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)/ Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). ■■ In Scotland, a Level 6 or above on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). ■■ If studying overseas, an approved international equivalent qualification at the higher level.

For more information visit www.enhancedlearningcredits.com

Former service personnel who previously registered on the ELC scheme while still in service are eligible to claim ELC support up to 10 years from their exit date. This eligibility is subject to the proposed activity resulting in a nationally recognised qualification at the following levels:

Over the following pages we feature some of the courses your ELCs can fund and the careers they can lead to, from personal training to senior administrative roles. Sqn Ldr Mark Norey is responsible for ELC policy at the MoD.

Submit a claim Download a claim form from the ELCAS website and submit your form to the appropriate single-service authority:

ROYAL NAVY

ELC Manager NTE Mailpoint 3.3 Leach Building Whale Island HMS Excellent Portsmouth PO2 8BY Email: FLEET-FOSTTAEL3RRESETSO3C@ mod.uk Telephone: 02392 625954

ARMY

ELC Manager DETS (A) Zone 4, Floor 2 Ramillies Building HQLF Monxton Road

Andover SP11 8HT Email: elc@detsa.co.uk Tel: 01264 381565 or 01264 381580

ROYAL AIR FORCE

SO3 Accreditation 22 (Trg) Gp Rm 227 Trenchard Hall RAF Cranwell Sleaford, Lincs, NG34 8HB Email: 22TrgGp-TPACCRED-SO3@mod.uk Tel: 01400 268182

Claimants no longer in service are encouraged to refer to the RAF Learning

Forces website for further information. You must make sure that you submit all of the documents listed below including proof of ID/ service: ■■ Claim Form ■■ Information about the course ■■ A plan of your personal development ■■ Copy of passport or driving licence (with photo) ■■ Copy of service discharge document ■■ Copy of utility bill (for address) ■■ Proof of ELC scheme membership

Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

»Resettlement

Perfect fit Injured service leavers find new lease of life as personal trainers

Veterans bring high levels of determination, motivation, drive and focus that the services instil in them

he Training Room personal trainer academy is renewing its commitment to helping injured ex-servicemen and women by offering 50 free courses over the next 12 months to anyone who has been medically discharged following injury or sickness. The combination of the personal training qualification and free careers advice in which the Training Room excels gives a welcome focus and boost for men and women making a career change. ‘Forces leavers make excellent personal trainers as they bring high levels of determination, motivation, drive and focus that the services instil in them,’ said Dan Reilly, an Army physical training instructor for 12 years and now a qualified personal trainer and tutor at the Training Room. The Training Room recruits, trains, develops and manages health and fitness professionals. It works closely with leading corporate fitness partners and develops its

personal trainer courses and graduates to meet the demands of the industry. Established for more than six years, it trains around 2,500 individuals each year on its personal trainer courses, priding itself on the quality of its training and its commitment to securing interviews and work positions for all its graduates. Courses are run all year round, at 19 regional academies. The Training Room’s free courses for injured servicemen and women are being offered in partnership with Help for Heroes. Dan Reilly said: ‘I have met a number of comrades who have come through rehabilitation and the Help for Heroes programme and thoroughly enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of completing the Training Room course.’ For more information or to make enquiries about the Help for Heroes free course offer, call 0800 028 4162 or visit www.thetrainingroom.com

A whole new direction CASE STUDY

fter losing a leg while serving in Afghanistan in 2008, Ross Austen, 30, spent two and a half years at Headley Court before joining the Help for Heroes programme. Prior to joining the Army, Ross had kept very fit and was interested in this field. When his Army career came to an end, retraining for the fitness industry made perfect sense. He has since qualified as a personal trainer and now has private clients of his own and runs boot camps. ‘After I left Headley Court I lacked focus and motivation for a while: without the structure of the Army and rehab I was suddenly on my own,’ said Ross. ‘The Training Room was mentioned to me and I thought, it’s an area I’m interested in so why not give it a go? I loved the course, completed it in six weeks and immediately set up my boot 64 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

camps. I then started to attract private clients who I train on a one-to-one basis. Life has taken a whole new direction and I have a strong sense of purpose once again.’ The Training Room course qualifies graduates to a REPs accredited Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training, including a Level 2 Gym Instructor Accreditation and a Certificate in Group Cycling, Sports Nutrition, Gym-based Boxing and Circuit Training.

xxxx xxxxxx xxxxx

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ÂťResettlement

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 65

»Resettlement

Open doors Access scheme gives servicemen and women chance to become students for the first time - at a world class university

ou may have chosen the armed forces instead of further education, but serving your country doesn’t stop you becoming better qualified. For as little as £75 you can find out how a year’s worth of university level study could fit around your duties and postings. Access to Success is a funding programme created by the Open University (OU) and the government for those who: ■■ have no previous higher education qualification and are new to the OU ■■ live in England (being in the services or part of a service family counts as that, wherever you are posted) ■■ have an annual household income under £25,000

Places are limited and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Low cost

For £75 you will become a student on OU courses worth £3,000. As long as you have a computer and can access the internet, you won’t need to find extra money for books, DVDs or other equipment. Your Access to Success programme will take just over a year, meaning that you will get all the advantages of studying with a world class university for little more than £6 a month.

Low risk

The only risk is that you won’t feel comfortable with the demands of an Open University module. Some people don’t

adapt well to studying but the vast majority who start OU courses cope with them and enjoy them. The OU has been in the top three UK universities for student satisfaction ever since the National Student Survey began in 2005.

First step

If you are accepted on Access to Success, your study will be divided into two parts. Step 1 is designed to develop your confidence and study skills so that you are prepared for study at a higher level than you have experienced before. In Step 1 you complete an end-of-module assessment but no exams. You will take a short starter module from the OU’s Openings collection. For example, you could choose understanding management, starting with maths or making sense of the arts. You will study these courses using the internet while you are off duty, for a period of about 20 weeks. You will find the full list of courses and their start dates on www3.open. ac.uk/study/atoz/openings-courses.htm. Whichever one you choose you will get support from your own personal tutor who will provide one-to-one tutorial advice over the phone. The usual fee for these courses is £625 but through Access to Success you will pay £25. If you complete and pass one of these modules you will earn 15 credits at OU Level 1 and have the opportunity to earn more credits towards a qualification on Step 2.

Second step

The courses on Step 2 are longer and a little more intense than the Openings course you passed in Step 1. Through Access to Success they will still be heavily subsidised. Investing a further £50 will get you on to OU courses valued at around £2,500. You should approach Step 2 with an eye firmly on your future. There are far more courses to choose from and they lead down different qualification routes. You need to decide on your goals. Are you hoping to use Step 2 as the springboard to further study that will ultimately bring you a 66 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

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»Resettlement certificate or diploma of higher education, a foundation degree or an honours degree? Do you want to build on the skills you have acquired in, say, engineering or computing, or are you happy to work towards a qualification that isn’t specifically related to the kind of work you have been doing in the services? Crucial questions like this need to be answered before you take advantage of the 60 academic credits available on Step 2 of Access to Success.

Step 2 courses

All the courses available to you on Step 2 are Level 1 OU courses. It is best to choose similar subjects to the one you took in Step 1, but this is not compulsory and on Step 2 you could specialise in: ■■ Arts and humanities ■■ Business and management ■■ Childhood and youth ■■ Computing and IT ■■ Engineering, technology and design ■■ Environment, development and international studies ■■ Health and social care ■■ Languages ■■ Law ■■ Mathematics and statistics ■■ Psychology and counselling ■■ Science ■■ Social sciences

The module you pick from these groups will normally start in February and/or October each year. Ideally, if you begin Step 1 in March or June 2013, you will start Step 2 on a module that commences between August 2013 and July 2014. When applying for your place, the OU will ask you to choose the appropriate module in line with your chosen qualifica-

68 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

You should approach the courses with an eye firmly on your future

tion. They will even advise you on the one most suited to your interests and goals.

What is different on Step 2?

In Step 2 you will be offered face-to-face group tutorials with other students studying the same module, at a location on or near to where you are stationed. You will also be able to contact your tutor online or by phone. In Step 2 you will study one 60-credit module or two 30-credit modules. Some will have an examination and some will have an end-of-module assessment. How long Step 2 takes depends on whether you choose a 60-credit module, which you can expect to complete in nine months, or two 30-credit modules which will occupy you for 12 to18 months.

Moving on

If you complete and pass Step 2, you can use the 60 credits you have gained as a base. For example, if you wanted to work towards a foundation degree, you will have already earned a quarter of the 240 academic credits required to complete the qualification. Here is a guide to the amount of further study you will need to complete after your Access to Success programme:

■■ For a certificate of higher education (CertHE) you will need another 60 credits, equivalent to

a further year’s study with the OU; ■■ For a diploma of higher education (DipHE) you will need another 180 credits, equivalent to a further three years’ study with the OU; ■■ For a foundation degree you will need another 180 credits, equivalent to a further three years’ study with the OU; ■■ For a degree without honours (BA or BSc) you will need another 240 credits, equivalent to a further four years’ study with the OU; ■■ For a degree with honours (BA Hons or BSc Hons) you will need another 300 credits, equivalent to a further five year’s study with the OU.

Access to Success will not subsidise the cost of your further study so you will need to make the most of the Ministry of Defence’s Enhanced Learning Credits scheme or get a student loan.

Why the OU?

The OU offers around 120 qualifications and more than 4,000 service personnel and their dependents are currently taking advantage of the special relationship between the university and the armed forces. Through the OU, service personnel are gaining qualifications which help them in the forces but also prepare them for new careers in the civilian jobs market. The flexible and distance learning format of OU study means it is ideal for those in the armed forces, and many of the courses have direct applications in the workplace. For more information about OU Openings courses and Level 1 modules, go to www.open.ac.uk/study. For more information about ‘Access to Success’ visit www.open.ac.uk/ learning/access or call 0845 300 6090 and quote LAPAAE.

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»Resettlement

Ready for business Professional office skills can make career transition smoother, writes Captain Martin Ladd

uccess at interviews in today’s tough employment market demands self-confidence, the ability to demonstrate a high level of skill and competence and, in many cases, proof of achievement in terms of national qualifications. Many Pitman Training diploma courses embrace studies leading directly towards a Level 3 qualification, a prereq-

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uisite where training is to be supported by an ELCAS grant. In 2012, among the most popular Level 3 qualifications taken by ex-service personnel at Pitman Training centres was the Oxford Cambridge and RSA (OCR) Level 3 Business Professional qualification in Text Processing. It’s not at all surprising to see this nationally accredited qualification in such

demand since so many well paid PA and senior administrative roles require evidence of a high level of computer and administrative skills these days. Many service personnel find that their roles in the armed forces have resulted in them developing sound foundation skills in many of the topics needed for the OCR Level 3 Text Processing (Business Professional) certificate and diplomas.

January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 69

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»Resettlement Among the units being studied for Level 3 awards, certificates and diplomas are Text Production, Speed Keying, Word Processing to expert level, Audio Transcription, Document Presentation, Legal Secretarial, Medical Secretarial, Mailmerge and Business Presentations (taking in PowerPoint). There are also credits available for other IT specialist modules. Typically, Pitman diploma courses provide for a massive range of Microsoft Office skills from beginner to expert level, for specialist training in medical and legal secretarial, and for a variety of additional electives in HR, PR, marketing, event management and many more valuable business skills. As evidenced recently by a Winchester diploma student, keyboarding speeds over

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90 wpm are achieved by some. Training at home or at work (studying via the Pitman distance learning online facility) is growing in popularity and many diploma and OCR Level 3 candidates choose a mix of distance and centre learning (at a variety of locations) to ensure professional in-centre support when it’s needed. Organisations, both large and small, currently have vacancies for PA’s, administrators and secretaries capable of working effectively at Level 3 and above. Ex-service personnel are able to bring to interview their already proven natural flair for teamwork, commitment and communication skills and, where these are accompanied by a Level 3 qualification and competence in such business skills as those mentioned above, applicants are very well

placed to secure appointments and well paid opportunities with good prospects. The majority of students who gathered at Pitman’s Winchester training centre for end of the year presentations had secured new appointments or promotions during 2012, having been awarded diplomas as executive PA’s, legal secretaries or as Microsoft Office specialists. For more information email martin@ pitman-winchester.co.uk quoting ‘Equipped – The Pitman Advantage’ and stating your main area of career development interest if known and your contact details. Martin Ladd is director of Brighter Prospects Ltd and Pitman Training in Hampshire and Bristol.

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»Recruitment

Testing roles World leader offers high service leavers second career in challenging field

ll successful companies have to maintain safe and healthy workplaces, uphold quality control and ensure social and environmental responsibility; but who assesses whether their standards are up to scratch? Step in Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification services which helps organisations comply with regulations, reduce risk, improve performance and promote sustainable development. With some 60,000 employees, more than 900 offices in 140 countries, over 400,000 clients and a turnover of 3.6 billion euros, Bureau Veritas has impressive local and international networks and a reputation for technical expertise. Steve Dutson, recruitment manager in the UK, said the company is the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification business. ‘We ensure compliance to legislation, regulation or a standard on anything you can imagine that is designed, built, manufactured or produced. ‘From toys and electric goods to ships and oil rigs, we ensure equipment is safe to operate and is fit for purpose.’ Steve is based in Manchester but usually can be found on a motorway, on his (hands free) phone, travelling from Aberdeen in the north to central London in the south. Bureau Veritas UK has five main divisions that employ some 1,000 people in total, either in offices, on sites, or in their homes. Some of these are former servicemen and women who work in the area of compliance management, which covers the statutory inspection of lifting equipment and pressure systems, anywhere from nuclear power stations to blue chip UK PLCs and airports There are all manner of roles open to former armed forces personnel, said Steve. ‘We’ll employ someone from the RAF, where they were a quality manager, and employ them as a quality auditor across various business sectors.’ In Aberdeen Bureau Veritas employs people in the offshore oil and gas industry, as verification engineers assessing equipment to make sure it complies with safety regulations.

74 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

The company is now looking to recruit more staff from the military following a review of performance at the end of 2011 that found a significant number of high achievers had a services background. ‘We are interested in recruiting at all levels; senior managers, engineers and consultants,’ said Steve. ‘We previously employed former servicemen and women on an ad hoc basis but this year decided to launch a unified campaign to take us from where we are today to be the employer of choice for people leaving the services. ‘We talk to the Careers Transition Partnership, attend recruitment fairs and liaise with the resettlement officer at REME to identify roles in the business we are able to recruit service leavers into.’ It isn’t just the technical skills that are important, said Steve; soft skills are equally valuable. ‘These are client facing positions and service personnel well suited to these roles, being confident and personable, and a client immediately understands that we operate to the highest standards as an organisation. ‘Bureau Veritas is a world leading company in its field and we want service personnel to know what we offer is a second career, not just a job, with internal training and prospects, where they can develop their skills and add to their qualifications. We don’t see servicemen and women merely as a resource to be used. ‘We say ‘come on board if you want to develop and learn and we’ll support you’,’ said Steve. The company, which is French owned, has been operating for over180 years so can offer stability – and growth. It has roughly doubled in size every 10 years, driven by the increase in legislation and regulation, right across the board and across the world. Bureau Veritas employed 23 service personnel in 2012 and have at least 20 current vacancies – for engineer surveyors, health and safety consultants, team leaders, business development managers – but, as Steve says, ‘if there were 50 good candidates we’d take them. You can always find work for good people in our field.’ For more information visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

There is always work for good people

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 75

»Recruitment

Services to sales

Former soldier looks for fellow forces personnel to boost growing team

ody Johnson left the Royal Artillery after nine years and, following a spell working for big corporations, decided he wanted to join a family company. He answered an advert to manage BathKnight’s call centre and has been with the company ever since. The job took him back to his roots in Stoke-on-Trent and after a couple of years he moved into sales. Now a sales manager, he wants to recruit more people with a military background. The company’s experience with former soldiers, airmen and sailors has been a positive one; they do ‘really, really well’, according to Jody, showing initiative, self-discipline and the ability to ‘think on their feet’. ‘It’s a totally different business to the forces,’ said Jody, but he believes servicemen and women have traits that suit the company’s sales roles. Bath-Knight are looking at service leav-

76 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

ers who may have done their 19 to 22 years but still want a new career on retiring from the forces. Jody says the sales team has a huge age range, with people in their early twenties to their early seventies and ‘everything in between’. As Jody explains, the Bath-Knight sales process is not governed by an aggressive sales pitch. ‘Every customer is different and our sales people develop a rapport with them…it’s an investigative role, finding out their problems…then offering them bathing solutions to suit their needs.’ The Bath-Knight product was devised by the inventor and designer Bill Steadman in 1989 and his daughter, Annette Greenwood, now owns and runs the company. Her husband, son and daughter are also involved, both at the British headquarters and in branches in France and Italy. The company’s products, still manufac-

tured in Stoke, enable people to stay in their own homes for longer. With cuts in public spending and an ageing population, BathKnight offers a cost effective solution for elderly people to remain independent. Jody says Bath-Knight is extremely ethical in its business ethos. It sells to people who have a need, whatever their age or difficulty. ‘We visit people in their own homes and give a full demonstration without obligation.’ The company has grown and flourished for 20 years and continues to expand. This expansion, though, is handled ‘nice and slowly’, said Jody, allowing about 10 to 12 new people to come on board at a time and integrate thoroughly. It is not an easy job, he admitted, because much of the time people have to work on their own but here a military background helps again - former service personnel are used to digging their heels in and getting on with it. Sales advisors are trained during a fourday residential course. Their appointment diaries are then managed through the head office and they are given 12 to 15 customers to see a week. Salesmen and women work on a self-employed basis and live all over the country, operating alone but with the constant support of their managers in Stoke. Trainers can go out with new recruits but Jody said they tend to let them find their own way first and ‘usually they get off to a great start’. Bath-Knight is the only company in its market that carries out demonstrations in the home, a procedure that involves half a bath and gives clients a chance to try out the lifts. Top sales staff may make up to eight sales a week and an average target is four which, after travel expenses are accounted for, can bring in earnings of around £1,000 a week. Jody said he finds his new career fulfilling. ‘Bringing in someone new and then just three months later seeing them earning the kind of money they want is a good feeling.’ For more information visit www.bath-knight.co.uk Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

BATH KNIGHT

Help in the home

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January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 77

»RFEA

Waiting to work Lorna Fitzpatrick describes her role as a specialist employment consultant with the wounded, injured and sick

78 | EQUIPPED | January/February 2013

specific project or being part of a team, enabling the individual to talk with conviction about their experience. At the very least it starts the networking going, which is the best way of tapping into the jobs market. These work placements are a critical part of wounded personnel’s recovery. They help confirm that they are capable of working in an industry, despite any restrictions they may now have, and also that they actually enjoy the type of work on offer. Most will have access to charitable funding to help retrain for their new career so it is common sense to make sure that this will be money and time well spent. For many Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

he vast majority of those in the replace the existing resettlement process; armed forces have a rough idea they simply enhance it for those who are when the end of service will be. considered to be most needy due to their For a small cohort, though, it is illness or injury. not planned. Understandably, much time in a PRU is Wounded, injured and sick (WIS) serspent waiting – waiting for medical vicemen and women are told by a medical appointments, for courses, for medical board that they are no longer fit enough or boards, for convalescence. In essence, well enough to carry out their military role. waiting to recover. It can be a devastating moment, especially Some of our soldiers have been out of the if their medical discharge has happened as work place for years while they recover and a result of fulfilling their military role. the prospect of having to fit back into a Many of the long-term WIS personnel are working environment, particularly if they likely to find themselves assigned to or supare managing a significant illness or injury, ported by one of 10 Army can be daunting. Personnel Recovery Units It is not just trade skills which (PRU) located throughout Lorna will have been lost but all the the UK and in Germany. Fitzpatrick other softer skills which we need Here, they receive dedicated to function successfully in the and bespoke assistance work place – confidence, selfthroughout their recovery esteem, credibility and just plain in preparation either for disgetting on with people. charge or returning to duty. If we can help reduce this negEveryone in the PRU ative impact then returning to will be allocated their work will not be such a shock. own personal recovery One of the main areas where officer, and a number of specialist employment consultother key personalities ants have been able to add real feature in helping to drive this recovery value is organising recovery work process forward, one of these being the placements, where wounded personnel specialist employment consultant. spend time with a civilian organisation. These consultants are part of the These organisations can be large corpoRecovery Career Services (RCS), whose rations or the shop next door, but all have a task it is to deliver an individualised and genuine commitment to help our wounded inspirational career service which empowboys and girls. ers WIS personnel to achieve a sustainable A work placement is tailored to the indiand fulfilling career. vidual and can be anything from a quick With a case load of about 30 individucareer chat to a full-time work opportunity. als each, specialist employment Some of the more successful placeconsultants are in a position to provide a ments have ended with employment, but unique service. just being able to include a period of They are funded by the ABF, the Soldier’s industry related experience on a CV is Charity, and their mantra is to turn waiting also a real step forward. This is even bettime into working time. They do not ter when it has involved working on a

Bespoke assistance for the injured

though, it is just about being confident enough to start taking control of their future again. Because no two injured personnel are the same it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when someone is ready to start receiving help from a specialist employment consultant. Not many soldiers are ready to look at a long work placement in the initial stages of recovery and that is when a volunteering or vocational activity could be the key in starting to encourage a focus. In one case it was sourcing tuition for a musical instrument which motivated a soldier to start moving forward; with another it was suggesting where to look for suitable childcare Go to www.equippedmagazine.co.uk

The prospect of having to fit back into a working environment can be daunting

who that soldier should be. And it is even better when the soldier attends the interview, is selected for the job and looks forward to going to work, saying, ‘I have finally found a job where I don’t need to pretend to be someone I’m not’.

to allow him to feel calm enough to come out of his house to begin a training course. Both now have paid employment. One of the real perks of working with our case loads is that we have the opportunity to get to know the soldier. It is a wonderful feeling as an employment consultant to see or hear about a possible opportunity for a WIS soldier and knowing immediately

Lorna Fitzpatrick works out of the PRU in Tidworth, Wiltshire. The Recovery Career Services (RCS) is a joint venture between the MoD and military charities, created to provide employment support to wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. It currently has 18 specialist employment consultants. The RCS’s web based portal will go live at the end of February. January/February 2013 | EQUIPPED | 79

»Motoring

Geeky performer

Renault Megane 1.2TCe Sport Tourer From £19,125

enault’s tiny TCe engine crams in masses of technology, with one aim: to deliver miserly economy without giving up decent performance. While some of the TCe’s tech is very geeky indeed, plenty of it is easy to understand.

Most engines, for example, are built around an iron cylinder block which is strong and cheap, but heavy. The TCe uses an aluminium alloy block, which saves weight and helps the engine to warm up faster. The engine internals have lowfriction coatings, because a reduction in friction means an increase in the power available to drive the car – or a reduction in the amount of fuel the engine has to use.

There’s a turbocharger, which pumps air into the engine so that it can generate the power of a much larger unit. The air going into the engine is cooled before it reaches the cylinders using an intercooler (like a small radiator) and fuel is injected directly into the cylinders, cooling the air again as the fuel vaporises. Power and reliability both improve as a result. The technical wizardry doesn’t end there. There’s var-

iable valve timing, to provide a good spread of power at all engine speeds, and a variable oil pump to maintain oil pressure using the minimum of energy. There’s even a smart stop/start system which determines which cylinder is the most likely to fire up and sends fuel to that cylinder – so the engine restarts quickly and reliably. The result is a 1.2-litre engine that delivers near enough the