As part of Armed Forces Week 2023, we spoke to a number of our Armed Forces personnel across Morgan Sindall Construction. In this interview we spoke to Jack Dean, who is working as an assistant site manager in Essex.
Jack joined the team in early March 2023, after serving eight years as a Lance Corporal, in the Parachute Regiment stationed in Colchester.
As a Lance Corporal, he was responsible for administration of a team between 6-8 people during deployments in the UK and aboard. During his time in the forces Jack also completed training which qualified him as an All-Arms Physical Training Instructor, with responsibility for delivering physical training sessions to a company of up to 90 people.
Jack had been working since his resettlement and had been applying for roles. A friend recommended he speak to Buildforce, of which Morgan Sindall is a founding partner. BuildForce are dedicated to supporting service leavers find roles in the Construction industry, whether this is setting up placement and work experience opportunities or supporting training to those seeking employment.
Through the organisation Jack was contacted by a Buildforce advisor who set him up with a placement on the Morgan Sindall site where he is now permanently based – Cedar Hall School in Benfleet, Essex. He had also completed a course with Building Heroes, which also meant he had a CSCS card – a requirement for all those working on construction projects.
“It’s great to come back to the site where I started my placement”, says Jack, “I popped my head in before I started my placement, just to say hi to the team and introduce myself and it was at the groundworks phase, now through my placement and my permanent role I’ve seen the foundations and first floor progress. It’s now in the next phases where the cladding is being applied.”
As a new starter to the business, we asked Jack about his experience so far and information he’d pass onto anyone looking to join the construction industry following a career in the Armed Forces.
How did you find your first few weeks in your role?
It’s tiring! The hours in a civilian role are different to that in the Army. When you’re on camp you might spend around 60% of your time in your role and the hours vary, you might have a late start on a Monday or a Wednesday or Friday half day. But in civilian employment the hours are more regular. I’m lucky as the commute to site isn’t too far from home (45 minutes to an hour) – but a regular, 5 full days a week job with continuous leaning is something to get used to!
In the first few weeks, I was really fatigued by the end of the day. Where site it can be very demanding throughout the day, it felt like my head was gone!
I was spending a lot of time actively listening throughout the day, making sure I was taking notes and asking questions, getting used to the new acronyms and how people communicate with each other. You’ll spend perhaps 15 minutes on one subject or talking to one supplier onsite before moving onto another person to talk about a completely different thing. It’s a completely new environment to get used to, but after just a couple of weeks it’s all starts to sink in and get much easier.
There’s a lot of self-directly learning and training too. In the Army you get taught in groups, so you can gauge from others if you’re picking something up quickly or not. When you’re learning by yourself it can be hard to understand where you’re at compared to others and sometimes you beat yourself up a bit, but it’s a new place to get used to and people are happy to help.”
What do you think are the skills that are transferrable to the Construction sector for those leaving the Armed Forces?
For me it’s confidence in an environment you’re unfamiliar with, being in the army, more specifically, the infantry, your purpose is to take ground quickly and get on with things, you must be comfortable being out of your comfort zone. On a site, we employ multiple trades and when a trade has come in to do a particular task, even though it is a Morgan Sindall site it can still feel like you’re stepping into their world.
Effective communication – is a hugely transferrable skill. I would sometimes deliver training to up to 90 people and I felt calm in my delivery, so I feel confident in speaking to people. This also helps when it comes to asking questions, coming from the Armed Forces you don’t tend to have that fear in asking for clarification, and learning from others who have the answers.
Jack also mentioned that the organisational skills learnt during a career in the Armed Forces stay with you too. “It’s sometimes hugely underrated, but just being organised is a great skill. From how to coordinate yourself, to planning your day and being in different places - on time (or in the case of someone from the Armed Forces arriving early!) Even low-level things like having a notepad and pen to hand and managing your notes. I still write down everything that needs to be done as I don’t want to forget anything - I go back to my trusty pad regularly so there’s no chance of forgetting anything.”
What skills do you think someone might need to learn when they join the industry?
If you’re coming from an infantry background, you may not have used a computer as much in your role. If that’s the case I would recommend learning some basic computer skills with programmes such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook email.
A lot of people take for granted that computers have been a part of their study or work for such a long time that using them is like second nature. It might seem daunting to start with and it can become frustrating as you know the answer to the question but using the tech to get something from A to B is the blocker. However, there’s no shortage of people who can help though – and everyone has been accommodating and given me lots of tips and tricks.
What are the differences between the two roles?
In the Armed Forces, you could go from one Company to another, and the way things are done, the leadership style and what’s expected of you would be almost the same – you’d all be treated the same too. In Construction, there are so many different routes in, so many styles of working, so there is no-one-size-fits-all leadership. To get the best out of people you need to be more aware of how different people work, and what motivates them.
What are the similarities between the two roles?
The approach to team-based project work is very similar. You’re working in a team, made up of different skills sets and it’s something that feels familiar. Each person has their role in the team and they’re all there to see the project to the end.
Find out more about Armed Forces careers
Jack's interview and others can be found in our Armed Forces booklet. Which also includes some of the advice compiled from our team for Armed Forces personnel seeking roles in the Construction industry.