Case Studies

As a Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, Dave has been responsible for the design and organisation of all “phase one” training of soldiers in the UK.

In other words, he and those he has worked with have dealt with the initial preparation of all new entrants to the Army, giving them them basic military skills they require. But recently, aged 45, Dave has had to face up to the challenge of his own military career coming to an end. Time runs out for all soldiers and this year, after 29 years of service, his time is up.

As well as training, around seven years ago Dave joined the management team responsible for the management of health, safety and environmental matters at the five regular Army training units and thirteen reserve Army training units in the UK. Outside of work, Dave is a very practical guy, who enjoys all kinds of DIY and sports.

His earlier Army career was also very hands on and technical, particularly his role with Surface to Air Missiles within the Royal Artillery. He later took a high level course in all air defence weapons systems and became an expert instructor. As someone who understands the value of learning, training and qualifications, it was no surprise that Dave began to prepare early for the end of his Army career.

He has a variety of qualifications linked to his time in the Armed Forces, including a CTLLS (Certificate to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector). But it is Dave’s three NEBOSH qualifications he has recently collected that have given him a new career direction. He took the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety to help gain formal knowledge of the subject in his most recent Army role.

Dave then added the NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management to extend both his know-how and his CV. Having also completed a handyman course, covering carpentry, bricklaying and so on, Dave most recently took and passed his NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Health and Safety. He especially enjoyed getting on-site and completing the practical assessment. “NEBOSH professionally prepares people for moving into this sector,” Dave told us. “In particular, the qualifications give the employer what they’re looking for. For me personally, all three qualifications have given me an immense amount of confidence to be able to go it alone and crack on.”

Dave is keeping his options open at the moment. A specialist HSE management role in construction could be an avenue for him, while another could be a more general training route.

Whatever is his final choice, Dave is clearly very well prepared.

Service leavers often find that a career in health and safety is a good fit, read more here: Guidance for Service Leavers.