Soldiers gain civilian construction experience with Aspire

Students from the Royal Engineers (RE) have gained valuable first-hand construction management experience with Aspire Defence Capital Works (ADCW), enabling future RE support of military operations and training exercises worldwide.

In all, three Sergeants were hosted at Larkhill and Perham Down in the ADCW modular and utility teams during May and June.

The students took up their placements at the request of the Corps of Royal Engineers, the British military construction agency which supports all three Services.

High-grade Non-Commissioned Officers are selected by the Corps to study a two-year Foundation Degree in Construction Management at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Kent.  The course covers groundworks through to full design, health & safety and build management.

The aim of the ADCW secondment was to give the students experience in construction management, reinforcing their training and preparing them for life after graduation, when they will become military Clerks of Works.  This role provides technical advice and management in support of military operations and training exercises worldwide.

The attachment also enabled the students to develop their technical skills and experience current practices in civilian industry.

During their secondment, the soldiers lived in one of the Single Living Accommodation blocks completed by ADCW under Project/Allenby Connaught, so were able to appreciate first-hand the Aspire ‘customer focus’ value.

Richard Tindal, Project Manager (ADCW) Larkhill, said:

“We were delighted to host our secondees and give them an insight to daily working life across our complex construction programme.  The work we are doing is particularly relevant to their specialism, so we hope they gained some valuable experience and ‘real-life’ skills practice to apply in their regimental roles.”