As part of Armed Forces Week 2023, we spoke to a number of our Armed Forces Families across Morgan Sindall Construction. In this interview we spoke to Brian Irving, Brian is a senior design manager working in Scotland, he joined the business in 1996. He’d always had an interest in the Reserves and so, in 1997 following a national recruitment event, he joined and has been a part of the Royal Engineers ever since.
In his role as Captain, he is second in command leading a team of forty designers and construction trades to support the Royal Air Force (RAF) to maintain infrastructure on their airfields. Tasks include reconnaissance to add extensions, creating or refurbishing hangars or resurfacing areas of land for use by the RAF as well as reducing flooding risks and planning logistics to ensure that the RAF can move large aircraft and equipment. Previous projects have seen Brian support works at the RAF Akrotiri base, which is the home of British operations in Cyprus.
In fact, Brian’s role at Morgan Sindall and the Reserves have progressed almost in tandem, starting in operational roles in engineering and surveying and now rising to senior roles that require much more people and project management skills.
Brian said: The Armed Forces have the same infrastructure requirements as a lot of organisations – they need to maintain buildings and move people, materials and equipment efficiently and safely. So that’s why you have the development of ‘Specialist Units’ and in my case it’s a Construction/Engineering specialism, so everyone in that unit has some kind of construction role or background and our ‘day jobs’ map directly to the role we do for the Reserves.”
“The National Specialist Units do involve less training commitments, you still have to maintain your field training – but not as frequently as front line units. In this role, your given a project brief and you work as a team to find the solution that are mapped to the technical skills you have.
The Armed Forces like most organisations are always keen to keep their skills and experience of their teams up to date. The Reserves allows them to utilise the skills from those in Civilian employment, but they also offer additional training opportunities, so you sort of get the best of both worlds. You’re using your skills from your day job to support the UK’s defences too.
When we interviewed Brian, he was just preparing for a weekend planning exercise at RAF Whittering, where they would be ensuring everything would be in place for a two-week exercise in September. “There’s a lot to do in a short space of time,” Brian said, “From booking flights, ensuring medical records and authorisations are up to date – even down to organising food.”
How do you think being part of the Reserves has benefitted your role?
“It’s just been a great extension of my role and I’ve been able to utilise skills and experienced gained in one and use it in the other, I’m still working with a lot of the same terminology and the multi-disciplinary teams I would normally work with such as architects and M&E subcontractors. The difference with the Reserves is the timeframes and the resources available, so you learn to work on a very tight resource in a lot more concentrated period of time. The processes are sometimes much more simplified, but as with my day-to-day role there are still multiple stakeholders to manage and ensuring the right task has been assigned to the right person.
“I’ve received some additional training in the Reserves in leadership and management, particularly when it comes to problem solving and planning and this has been useful to utilise in my role.”
“The Reserves have changed, in that they’re very much integrated now in the Regular Forces, you have the same protocols and processes to follow and you’re considered an employee just like you would be in your day job, in the Reserves you still have an appraisal and it can be an opportunity to gain additional development and feedback which benefits your whole career.
“My experience has helped open doors and have conversations with those in a similar role or with a military background. It helps us on Ministry of Defence (MoD) projects as I have more of an understanding of the processes and standards involved.
“But also when it comes to people, it’s an opportunity to speak to people at networking and industry events who have a similar role to me or have a military background. There are a lot in the Construction industry who do.”
Finally, would Brian recommend the Reserves to someone working in a civilian role?
“Yes. Like several industries there’s an aging demographic in the Reserves which is a concern to people. The recruitment and joining process can be quite time consuming now, it’s not like it was when you walk in the recruitment office and that’s it! There are application forms, medicals, pre-checks, interviews and then recruitment training. There are a lot of applications that drop off on the way, but if you’re aware of the time scales and you work for an employer who wants to support then it’s worth sticking to it.
“When you work for an organisation who hold the Armed Forces Covenant there are certain leave requirements if you’re deployed on exercise. Previously, the business were supportive when I was required at short notice for overseas operations. They helped me with the paperwork that was required by the MoD, as there was a short time frame to complete it all. The team kept in touch with me while I was deployed, and they were flexible with my start date when I returned to the UK.
“I’d recommend it and the good thing with events such as Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day and raising awareness of those in the organisation with a military background, there’s people who can help you understand more about the role, how it fits with your day job and help with application processes.”
Armed Forces careers
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