The UK government published its National Infrastructure Plan for Skills in September 2015. This plan recognised the significant shortfall of skilled workforce that is required to deliver UK's planned infrastructure projects. As one of the key organisations affected by this skills shortage, Network Rail started to look at wider opportunities to recruit people into their organisation.
As part of this exercise, Network Rail began a process to recruit more effectively and widely from the ex-military community. Chris Ackerman (Programme Manager, Network Rail) explains that the process started by discussing with Officers' Association a way in which to skills map the military skills against those needed at Network Rail.
Guiding & Assessing Transformation in DODDon_Johnson
The initial concepts developed by Don Johnson, the first Director of the Joint Assessment & Enabling Capability (JAEC) with regard to Guiding and Assessing Transformation
Guiding & Assessing Transformation in DODDon_Johnson
The initial concepts developed by Don Johnson, the first Director of the Joint Assessment & Enabling Capability (JAEC) with regard to Guiding and Assessing Transformation
Training Slides of Competency-based Management for the DoD-wide Contracting Community, discussing the importance of Competency Management.
For further information regarding the course, please contact:
info@asia-masters.com
www.asia-masters.com
It is a methodology used to develop and refine an organization’s software development process. CMM can be used to assess an organization against a scale of five process maturity levels based on certain Key Process Areas (KPA). It describes the maturity of the company based upon the project the company is dealing with and the clients.
Future Maturity (P3M3) or Five Generation Workplace - RSM UK, Andy Murray | F...Wellingtone
A survey by the Project Management Institute (PMI) showed a correlation between the maturity of PMOs and an organisation’s project/programme performance. PMOs are therefore centre stage in helping organisations improve their capability and ultimately the success of their projects and programmes.
So, how can PMOs use capability maturity models, such as P3M3®, as a means to identify, prioritise and drive performance improvements? In this session, RSM’s Head of Projects and Programmes practice, Andy Murray, explains how. Andy has been involved in the design/development of P3M3® and has been delivering P3M3® related services since 2007, since when his team have completed over 250 maturity assessments for public sector, private sector and charity sector organisations.
Andy Murray presented at FuturePMO 2019 which is a 1 day PMO conference hosted by Wellingtone. www.FuturePMO.com
Ariel Partners has developed a comprehensive program for governance and oversight of large-scale agile projects in the US federal government. This program is structured as a set of eleven major focus areas. Within each focus area, there are specific oversight objectives, activities, and metrics. The output is captured in an excel spreadsheet that calculates a set of quantitative measures, which are then aggregated to automatically produce a composite score, using a similar scoring strategy to FITARA. The program is comprehensive, but it is based on a set of simple principles. We have prepared a presentation that summarizes the program’s key points.
Project Management In Action In AfghanistanDan Harmuth
This presentation reviews the mission we were given to increase the capacity of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Basic Training to accommodate the increase of the ANA to 134,000 by Oct 2010.
How we used Project Management in increasing the Army Soldier Basic Training capacity in 2009 to 2010. I commanded a Detachment of U.S. Army Drill SGTs that mentored the Basic Training of the Afghan National Army. We had 5 training locations across Afghanistan.
Training Slides of Competency-based Management for the DoD-wide Contracting Community, discussing the importance of Competency Management.
For further information regarding the course, please contact:
info@asia-masters.com
www.asia-masters.com
It is a methodology used to develop and refine an organization’s software development process. CMM can be used to assess an organization against a scale of five process maturity levels based on certain Key Process Areas (KPA). It describes the maturity of the company based upon the project the company is dealing with and the clients.
Future Maturity (P3M3) or Five Generation Workplace - RSM UK, Andy Murray | F...Wellingtone
A survey by the Project Management Institute (PMI) showed a correlation between the maturity of PMOs and an organisation’s project/programme performance. PMOs are therefore centre stage in helping organisations improve their capability and ultimately the success of their projects and programmes.
So, how can PMOs use capability maturity models, such as P3M3®, as a means to identify, prioritise and drive performance improvements? In this session, RSM’s Head of Projects and Programmes practice, Andy Murray, explains how. Andy has been involved in the design/development of P3M3® and has been delivering P3M3® related services since 2007, since when his team have completed over 250 maturity assessments for public sector, private sector and charity sector organisations.
Andy Murray presented at FuturePMO 2019 which is a 1 day PMO conference hosted by Wellingtone. www.FuturePMO.com
Ariel Partners has developed a comprehensive program for governance and oversight of large-scale agile projects in the US federal government. This program is structured as a set of eleven major focus areas. Within each focus area, there are specific oversight objectives, activities, and metrics. The output is captured in an excel spreadsheet that calculates a set of quantitative measures, which are then aggregated to automatically produce a composite score, using a similar scoring strategy to FITARA. The program is comprehensive, but it is based on a set of simple principles. We have prepared a presentation that summarizes the program’s key points.
Project Management In Action In AfghanistanDan Harmuth
This presentation reviews the mission we were given to increase the capacity of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Basic Training to accommodate the increase of the ANA to 134,000 by Oct 2010.
How we used Project Management in increasing the Army Soldier Basic Training capacity in 2009 to 2010. I commanded a Detachment of U.S. Army Drill SGTs that mentored the Basic Training of the Afghan National Army. We had 5 training locations across Afghanistan.
Similar to Employers Network: The Case of Network Rail (20)
Maximising The Impact of Your Internal Military Network: Key Enablers For Suc...Officers' Association
This summary gives you the key benefits, costs, considerations and challenges to maximise the impact of your military network – whether just setting one up or leveraging the benefits from a more mature network.
You may be at the stage where you're clear about the career path you want to take and have already done your research. Or you may be overwhelmed by the amount of options out there. Don't worry. Everyone's transition is different so don't be concerned if you're still unsure. More details of stages and questions are contained in our online transition guide – Your Transition – 3 Steps to Success.
As part of it's Military Is Good for Business campaign, the Officers' Association (OA) have teamed up with Business in the Community (BITC) to launch the Military Jargon Buster; An open project aimed at helping employers cut through the acronyms and cryptic terminology used by the military.
We've found that ‘military jargon' can be a barrier for employers looking to engage with or recruit military personnel, often meaning Service Leavers are overlooked for civilian career opportunities and employers miss out on exceptional talent.
To kick start this business community project, the OA have created a working document, the Military Jargon Buster, to be shared with employers through its social networks and BITC's network. We want to hear from employers on what terminology they have come across so that we can create a practical tool and reference point for employers engaging with military personnel.
We are delighted to sponsor the Nationwide Resettlement Awards 2016 this coming November. Read more about it in this months edition of Pathfinder Magazine.
The inaugural Employers Forum was held on the 14th of June 2016. The aim of the forum was to provide an arena for employers interested and engaged in military recruitment programmes to come together to:
- Gain an understanding of how to develop and communicate a business case, with special emphasis on costs, benefits, challenges and other considerations involved in the process.
- Share best practice
- Gain real time insights and practical tips
- Make connections with other employers
This document outlines the key aspects of the Forum with a view to sharing knowledge and insight amongst employers.
Concerned your LinkedIn profile isn’t getting the attention it should be? Make sure it speaks volumes with the help of our Social Media Consultant. Our expert Martin Thomas will disclose the secrets of creating a profile that shines.
If you’ve had enough of hearing how important LinkedIn is and are yet to see its value, then this workshop is for you. We will take the mystery out of LinkedIn and disclose the secrets to creating a profile that represents you to employers in the best possible light.
The inaugural Employers Forum was held on the 14th of June 2016. In order to obtain a better understanding of the employers represented at the forum, live data was captured during the day. The specific aims of this data capture were:
Understand the nature of employers attending the forum
Understand the nature of military engagement by employers attending the forum.
This report provides the results of the live data capture. All the responses were based on the organisations’ UK operations.
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) Trust were taking part in a very productive Prince's Trust Get into Hospital Services programme, which aims to get young people between the ages of 16-24 into work experience leading to jobs. In 2014, a discussion between NNUH and Walking with the Wounded resulted in the Trust deciding to trial a similar programme for service leavers.
BT has a well established historic link with the UK armed forces which dates back to the First World War when BT was still the General Post Office. Over the following decades, the organisation has continued to build on this relationship.
In order to bring the various military engagement initiatives together in a coherent programme, BT appointed Mark Arscott as Head of Military Engagement in September 2015.
1. CASE STUDY
The Case of Network Rail
The UK government published its National Infrastructure Plan for Skills in
September 2015. This plan recognised the significant shortfall of skilled workforce
that is required to deliver UK's planned infrastructure projects. As one of the key
organisations affected by this skills shortage, Network Rail started to look at wider
opportunities to recruit people into their organisation.
As part of this exercise, Network Rail began a process to recruit more effectively
and widely from the ex-military community. Chris Ackerman (Programme Manager,
Network Rail) explains that the process started by discussing with Officers' Association
a way in which to skills map the military skills against those needed at Network Rail.
Background
The skills mapping process undertaken by the Officers' Association in conjunction
with Network Rail is outlined below:
The Process
Select
Role Identification
• Identify key roles to
be skills mapped
• 10 roles were
identified
Skills Validation
• Interviews with Network
Rail employees currently in
the roles identified above
as well as supervisors/line
managers
• Identify key skills needed
for the roles based on the
interviews
Skills Map against
Military
• Using courses and
training that are
underatken by officers
in the Army, the skills
sets and qualifications
of the officers were
matched against the
Network Rail skills
framework
Developing a Skills Framework
• Use the Job Descriptions for the roles
as a starting point to list the skills,
qualifications, and competencies
required
• Discussions with HR and Line
Managers to refine the skills framework
• Four groups of skills and competencies
were identified in the framework -
Technical, General, Leadership/
Management, and Behaviours
2. CASE STUDY
www.officersassociation.org.uk
The Officers’ Association
Bristol | Leeds | London | Portsmouth
The skills validation process revealed that General,
Leadership/Management and Behaviours were as important
as technical skills when recruiting and selecting people for
these roles. This was an important step in aligning the needs
of the role with that of the recruitment strategy.
The skills mapping process resulted in developing a
framework that indicated the alignment of the skills required
by Network Rail with the skills of the military. A RAG1
(Red,
Amber, and Green) code was developed to indicate this
alignment. Chris Ackerman states that the skills map helps
understand the ‘skills package that people who are coming
in have, both from a recruitment perspective and their
potential training and development requirements'.
As Aaron Gracey (Armed Forces Engagement Manager,
Network Rail) explains, the benefit of this process is that it
can allow Network Rail to target the right individual with
the right skill sets for these roles. This in turn would mean
a more focussed recruitment and training strategy. A long
term potential benefit of this, Aron mentions, is that aligning
the skills of Network Rail and potential recruits might
mean that, they will stay with the organisation longer. This
will then result in reduced staff turnover and reduction of
associated recruitment and training costs.
The Outcomes & Benefits
The skills mapping process undertaken by Network Rail is not without its costs and
challenges. Chris Ackerman mentions that the greatest costs were resource and time.
Employees at Network Rail had to support, take part, and manage this process over
and above their job roles. This meant progress was not always consistent and heavily
influenced by other workloads and priorities.
Aaron Gracey also mentioned that another key challenge was to engage frontline teams
and supervisors from the outset of the project rather than it being a purely Human
Resource bases exercise. Allowing frontline teams to review the skills to develop the initial
skills framework may involve challenging prevalent norms and assumptions. However, this
process will ensure team acceptance of the skills framework as well as ensuring that the skills
identified are relevant for the roles and the organisation.
The military skills mapping phase also had its challenges. As Keith Spencer (Business
Development Manager, Officers' Association), who carried out this task explained, due
to tight delivery deadlines to complete the mapping, the Army was the only Service used
in this exercise. Keith identified key branches within the Army (Royal Engineers, Royal
Mechanical Engineers, and Logistical Core) which would contain the skills that are
more aligned with the needs of Network Rail. More time and resource allocation would
enable expanding these into the other Services to get a more detailed representation
of where skills matches might prevail. For any other organisation considering a similar
process to develop an effective military recruitment programme, Keith has the following
advice, ‘know what your business need is and bear in mind that the effort and time put
into this would reflect the quality of the product you end up with'.
The Costs & Challenges
The skills mapping exercise facilitates the way forward in effective recruitment at Network
Rail. However, it is still a work-in-progress. Network Rail are planning to develop a
ranking system to prioritise the skills and qualifications needed for potential Network Rail
employees in specific projects and roles, thereby refining the skills framework further.
Moving Forward
1 Red: It is rare for military personnel to be skilled in this area – requires training
Amber: Some military personnel will be skilled but may lack experience and
require context specific training
Green: High confidence that majority of military personnel will be skilled in
this area
Project Manager Assistant (Band 5)
Technical General
Leadership /
Management
Behaviours
Indicative Formal Qualifications
Tech, PM and Other
Project Governance/
Controls Knowledge
and Application
Continuous Improvement
Customer Driven
and Focused
Health and Safety in
Construction Environment
General
Communication Skills
Change Management Accountable
Health and Safety in Rail
Construction Environment
Evidence based
analysis
Decision Making Challenging
CDM Regulations Problem solving
Self Awareness; Ability
to Identify Personal
areas for Dev
Working in
Collaborative
Contractual Environment
Possession Planning and
Working in Possessions
Report Writing
Articulate information
confidently and credibly
Leads by Example
General Construction
Project Managerment
Operational
Capability
Stakeholder
Management
Respect for others
Working in Multidisciplinary Rail
Environment (PWay, S&C, Signals
and Comms, Building and Structures)
Schedule Adherence Managing information Reliability
Delivery to Cost, Time & Quality Prioritisation of Work
Co-ordination and
planning of small teams
Ethically Driven, Integrity
Commercial Management -
Developing and Letting Contracts.
Personal
Administration
Project resource
management
Loyalty to Team and
Network Rail Policy
Construction Specific
Contractual Knowledge
Negotiation skills
Communicating
effectively
Commercial Management -
Managing Contractual Relationships
Presentational skills Multi-tasking
Financial Management;
Forecasting, Adherence to FFR,
Change Control, P&L
IT skills - Excel, Word,
Powerpoint, Outlook
Effective time
management
Managing Contractors/
Sub-Contractors
Action planning Self motivating
Managing Design Development Ethics training Process thinking
Use of MSO Windows Applications
“Aligning the skills
of Network Rail and
potential recruits
might mean that they
will stay with the
organisation longer.”
Aaron Gracey, Network Rail