Kevin J. Kennedy’s Post

In today's #EmployeeSpotlight we are sharing the story of Chris Hodge, one of our Training Business Partners. Chris joined Gregory Group just over seven years ago after a career in the Royal Navy as a weapons and drill instructor. In his own words, Chris tells us about his role and his transition from the military. Q1: What does your job entail? I train drivers to help them achieve their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC). I also deliver safety training and am on hand to support our Transport Managers with any training requirements. But when I first joined Gregory Group, I was a trainee working to secure my Class 2 licence. I then passed my Class 1 test and became a pallet network driver. Q2: What do you enjoy most about working at Gregory Group? My career progression has been very rewarding. As a driver, I was the person people came to for advice and from that, I was able to explore a career in training. From a day-to-day point of view, the best bit of my job is the two-way interaction. Seeing someone engage with what I am teaching and then applying it in practice is very satisfying. Q3: How did you find the transition from the Navy to Gregory Group? It was quite an easy transition. I felt welcomed on the first day and the camaraderie created the sense of a 'military environment'. Everyone was friendly and offered help, which has been echoed across the business. When I was due to leave the military, it felt daunting, but it has been a brilliant opportunity to learn and develop my career. But that said, I will never forget where I came from, and I still apply the values and ethos I learnt while serving. #OurPeople #DeliveringWinners #transportation #logistics #warehousing

I am now 1 year out from official retirement from the U.S. Coast Guard. It is getting real! Over the last 3 months, I have participated in no fewer than 30 informational interviews, which have really helped me vector in on what I would like to do post-retirement. For those of you who have taken the time to speak to me about your job/role and responsibilities, thank you! These interviews are so critical for separating military members. I was also able to find an incredible mentor through American Corporate Partners (ACP) and was accepted into FourBlock, which will begin this Fall. Beyond the aforementioned post-military career pursuits, I am hoping to earn the Certified Protection Professional certification through ASIS International in the coming months while volunteering my time with the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC®) as a writer and reviewer for the #cih exam. Again, I wish to thank all of those who have helped me up to this point and look forward to learning more about #ehs, #security, and #emergencymanagement career opportunities as I get closer to July 2024! #ehsjobs #securityjobs #militarytransition #openfornewopportunities #opentowork #veteran #gratitude #industrialhygiene #safetyjobs #safety #safetyandsecurity #occupationalhealthandsafety #jobseeker #jobs #transitioningservicemembers #retiring #military #mentoring #ehsmentoring #passionforwork #firstihinspace #executiveleadership #executiverecruiter

↗ Onward and Upward! 🚀 Such exciting #growth for the Heroes MAKE America program! 📦 This additional #virtual track will allow us to support those who are interested in the #supplychain and #logistics industry - a #critical component of #manufacturing!

This is the DACOWITS chair who is reccomending the USMC integrate Recruit Training platoons. Oddly, Ms Shelly O'Neill Stoneman's listed bona fides do not appear to meet the criteria one would expect of a Subject Matter Expert tasked with weighing in on either the USMC Entry Level training SOPs or the junior Enlisted coaching / mentoring / PME processes tied to individual Professional Development, our Service Culture and our Title 10 USC roles and responsibilities. (I also don't see how her husbands' former time as an Army Infantryman is relevant to ANYTHING that deals with the Marine Corps, to say nothing of Marine Corps recruit training; apples to 4-barrel carburetors. Anywho...her stated reasoning to combine Recruit Training platoons: "...platoon level integration is critical to dismantling negative stereotypes and fostering positive inclusion across an organization.” At face value said justification appears to support a COA crafted to address a serious, existing problem plaguing the Marine Corps. However, upon closer deconstruction its actually akin to extolling the virtues of the relationship between the grip-to-bend ratio of a Pole Vaulter's Pole to a 95 y/o Grandmother who uses a walker to putter around her kitchen while making scungilli. It's technically correct information but it's not applicable to the target auidience. It is in fact, naught but a generic 'justification" blurb lovingly copy-and-pasted from a monolithic, at-the-ready, self-licking icecream cone of a word salad talking-points repository / lexicon; self-congratulatory vernacular designed solely for Power Point Slides, Point Papers and other rote regurgitation mediums designed to scare, worry, and/or intimidate people, drive home current party-lines and to ultimately force-feed conformity under the guise and moral imperative of "helping solve a problem" that in reality, does not exist. It is a tool of the crowd who believes if somethings' not yet broken, keep trying to fix it until it is. Did this commitee not truly understand that the USMC is the only Service currently who: 1. Routinely meets/exceeds its new assession/shipping/recruiting goals each FY. 2. Is the only Service that currently has a Heritage Foundation Military Index of "strong." I'm not convinced the board in toto truly understood who and what Marines are, what they do, and why they're different. I also do not understand why the committee wasn't made up solely of male and female Marines - all ranks Sgt to Colonel - with copious amounts of DI, Command, Combat, and Entry-level / Intermediate School House experience. Who better to understand what changes would be healthy or detrimental to the Marine Corps writ large than actual products of the various training / mentoring / education pipelines? If you want to design a better table saw, you don't ask the jigsaw folks for their recommendations... Sure they both have blades and they're both saws, but they each cut differently and are not interchangeable.

You can make most interactions with people learning experiences. Today at work I needed some people to sign some forms. They aren't at the point in their careers to actually know and use these forms. I made sure I talked them through it, but also let them know HOW they could use the forms to help themselves out in their future careers when they reach that point. I could have just said "read this and sign it" which they would have done, but would that have taught anything? No. The best way I have learned to lead people is to teach them how to take my job. #leadertraining #transitioningmilitary #transitioningvets

Transition out of the military is one of those life events that keeps you anxious, unsure, nervous, frustrated when your awake, asleep, drunk, at ease, in the morning, noon at night no matter how well prepared you may think you are. TRUST me I know, just went through it. Add on the available resources that are out there. It can be overwhelming at times... Take a look at the below and see if it can assist you. Any feedback is welcome after if you use any of them. #veteranshelpingveterans #veteransupport #militarytransition #militaryveterans #transitioningmilitary #transitioningservicemembers

The best practices in the career/employability space are evidenced by an external Code of Ethics that the organisation delivers its services through. Without a #codeofethics organisations cannot be judged. Lancashire Careers Company CIC operates under the Career Development Institute. This means that our work with #careleavers and #veterans abides by the 12 point code and adheres to the #NationalOccupationalStandards. If you work in this space, can you guarantee your clients are supported by qualified (minimum Level 6 practitioners) and work to these exacting standards? If you put the best in at the front end, you get the best out the other end. That means you stop the revolving door of #unemployment. Anything less is futile... Career Development Institute National Careers Service Lancashire Women The Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub College For Military Veterans and Emergency Services Help for Heroes Forces Employment Charity Forces in Mind Trust Lancashire County Council

Well that’s a wrap on another great Career Transition Workshop (CTW) with an engaged and fun group of 14 service leavers at Tidworth for Elly Cooper. I had some lovely feedback and comments. I love developing the cohesion of the group during the workshop in an open, trusting, respectful and sharing environment … and with no judgement. I love a good flipchart and pen too 🖊️ 😉😁 Everyone has the potential to do what they want to do in their life after the Military. It is about helping to unlock their potential. These workshops give service leavers a great springboard to their resettlement journey with so much information, resources, tips and tools … not to mention the great resource that is the Career Transition Partnership website. I have never worked in an organisation that provides this much or type of support to help you transition and move on in your career. When I took voluntary redundancy in 2012 it was just ‘bye 👋 ‘. Looking forward to moving back into the normal CTP Tidworth training rooms in a month or so after building works. Onto the next one in two weeks 😁 #careerchange #military #veterans #ctp #personaldevelopment