No ONLINE meeting in August
The Rural List takes a month off in August but why not attend the Families Rural Careers Insight Day being hosted by Ruralink at Farm-Ed on 22 August instead?
The Rural List Online - 10 September 2020
Planting Trees in the Desert - Dr Andy Steel (formerly Royal Navy)
The book of Andy's life would be a best-seller!
Andy Steel joined the Navy aged 17, serving for 12 years as an aircraft technician and leaving as a Petty Officer. Since then, the skills and values he learnt in the service have carried him through commercial, charitable and academic adventures around the globe, including selling oil to the Middle East (!), planting trees in the desert and being awarded an honorary doctorate. He studied for an MBA and has worked as a company Director and Chief Executive and currently serves as a Non-Executive Director.
The common theme running through the last 15 years of his career is trees.
In 2005, Andy founded the Plant a Tree Today Foundation and has since project managed the planting of over 3 million trees across Asia. Now based in Hull, he is currently energetically pursuing a target of planting 1 million trees in the East Riding as well as partnering with various organisations to develop linked veteran training and career opportunities across the North East.
Join us for an inspirational talk which will blow any self-limiting beliefs right out of the universe!
The Rural List Online meets every second Thursday of the month.
CONNECTING RURAL VETERANS
THE RURAL LIST ONLINE - 8 OCTOBER 2020
Guest Speaker to be announced
This event will shine a light on yet another exciting career path within the land-based sector.
If you would like to be our next guest speaker or have a suggestion or request for a speaker you would like us to feature, please email: info@ruralink.org.uk and we will do our best to support.
The Rural List Online meets every second Thursday of the month.
CONNECTING RURAL VETERANS
WARDENS AND RANGERS with Martin Newnham (ex-Army) - Head Keeper & Constable Epping Forest - May 2020
"Very interesting and honest, just what is needed" said one attendee.
Thanks to Martin for a very open and honest account of how he got into his current role of Keeper and Constable of Epping Forest. There are unique "funnies" about his role, but there are for every land-management role although I don't suppose many rural land managers have quite as many burnt-out cars to deal with!
Martin served in the regular army and then in the reserve before landing this dream job. He says no two days are the same as he includes strategic planning, policing, wide stakeholder engagement, recruiting and mentoring new staff and game management amongst his varied duties.
Martin is very willing to host resettling personnel for volunteer and work experience; if this is of interest, email info@rurualink.org.uk and we will put you in touch.
Stephen Ensell - LANDSCAPING - April 2020
With guest speaker, Stephen Ensell, Education Officer of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI).
Stephen spoke about career opportunities for landscape contractors, landscape architects, garden designers and suppliers, including necessary training and qualifications for various career pathways.
He also introduced a forthcoming Level 3 ELC-compatable course which is planned to launch in autumn 2020. Further details will be made available via the BALI website and Ruralink as they become available.
Stephen emphasised that military candidates are highly sought after in the sector and encouraged interested candidates to contact him for further details and to discuss options.
Sam Meredith (ex-Army) - Catchment Coordinator, Environment Agency - March 2020
Sam Meredith is now working as a catchment Coordinator with the Environment Agency.
Sam recounted his resettlement journey, starting with a rewarding period volunteering in southern Africa with Veterans for Wildlife in Kruger National Park and then with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) in Gloucestershire.
His story also included honest recollections of the times when his job search stalled and how having a strong network gave him the "kick up the bum" to get a job and actually start his civilian career. As he says:
"Getting a job is easier when you have a job."
The Rural List is One Year Old - February 2020
Happy Birthday to us!
Following on from the first ever Rural Careers Insight Day during the afternoon, up to forty people enjoyed excellent food by Joe at Wildgoose washed down with a glass of Corinium Ales' Premium and listened to a truly inspiring talk by Jonny Kerr, former Army officer, 2020 Oxford Farming Conference Emerging Leader and current farm manager. His talk proved that it is wholly possible for people with drive and determination to succeed in agriculture, even without a traditional farming background.
Thanks to everyone who came along, including business contacts:
Woodchester Valley Retirement Village (a rural community seeking a new manager)
Networking - What is it and why should I? - January 2020
A very friendly group of fifteen rural networkers gathered to drink, chat and exchange best practise on business cards, elevator pitches and how to get the best out of LinkedIn. (If you missed out, a handy guide to producing an elevator pitch is available to download here.)
Thanks to Matt Sheerin of After The Military for his insights into how a recruiting agency works and to Wendy Faux for top tips on business cards and for bringing along a very welcome group of military spouses, including an off-duty insider from Recruit for Spouses; we hope you will come again soon!
Charlotte Boole - Gateway Training - Outdoor Skills Instructor (Lantra) - November 2019
Despite floods and snow only a bound away, a determined group of hardy resettling military personnel met to hear from Charlotte Boole about the huge demand for outdoor skills instructors and how military personnel are highly sought after as much for the personality they bring into the training environment as for their reliability, presentability and punctuality. Unfortunately the snow had prevented Alec Hands of Lantra reaching the meeting but along with his apologies he also sent a message that changes are afoot which will make it even easier for resettling military personnel to access this career path. The current process is summarised here: https://www.lantra.co.uk/become-instructor-or-assessor.
It was also a pleasure to welcome Nigel Chute of Chute Designs who, as ever, was delighted to meet so many entrepreneurial people in one room!
Clare Muir (formerly RAF) - The National Trust - October 2019
Our first alumni speaker, Clare Muir, recently moved seamlessly from a joint COS role at the Defence Academy to her first civilian role as Assistant Director South West Landscapes and Infrastructure at The National Trust. On the way, she attended a meeting of The Rural List, so she is one of us!
Clare presented a raft of top tips for transition including:
- Big up positive military stereotypes and address negative ones head on.
She highlighted that there are a great many ex-mlitary across the National Trust and reflected that an introduction to a former army officer within the business had helped her considerably with interview preparation. She wants to provide similar assistance to those who follow and said she'd be "really annoyed" if an ex-service person who is applying for a National Trust role didn't get in touch, offering to introduce them to the best-placed internal contact to assist.
You can contact Clare via her LinkedIn profile page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareemuir/
We were also delighted to welcome Jo Sturdy from the Officers' Association and local entrepreneur Jan Smuts of Cotswold Hose and Fittings as well as some new resettling personnel.
