Representatives from the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment spent a day with the Skanska team at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
Over the past two years the team has visited the regiment at its barracks in Colchester on a number of occasions where they have learnt the similarities between military and civilian ways of working, in particular the processes used for occupational and operational duties.
Graham Ashley, operations manager at Skanska, commented: “By working together we learnt how the skills and expertise from the armed forces can be used to provide them with job opportunities at the end of their careers. The construction industry has a lot to benefit from recruiting military personnel, which can be used to help us deliver projects on time, within budget and to a satisfied client.”
At the beginning of January the team gave the visitors an overview of Skanska, focusing on the Barts project, as well as demonstrating how a modern construction project is set up and run, which included a tour of the site.
The visitors were given the opportunity to put what they had learnt into practise by participating in the Efficient Project Management simulation.
Graham added: “During lunch we invited members of our team with an ex-forces background to meet personnel from the regiment. This encouraged discussions about how they have adapted and changed from military to civilian life, and how they forged a new career in the construction industry.”