A Warrington-based trainee water supply manager has been testing just how well he performs under pressure – Army style.
James Lloyd, 25, was one of around 40 graduate trainees at Cheshire-based United Utilities who were invited to Weeton Barracks near Blackpool, Lancashire, as part of the company’s management training programme.
Personnel from a variety of Army units schooled James and the other civilians on mission planning, first aid and even weapons training before setting them a range of tricky tests which included clearing a building of enemy occupants and making a traffic collision safe before providing first aid to the injured.
United Utilities hope the experience will improve the trainees’ leadership skills, while the Army sees the experience as a way of improving future business leaders’ awareness of just how the Army Reserve works.
James, who has a Masters degree in chemical engineering from Teesside University, is from Middlesbrough but now lives in Warrington.
He said: “It’s been interesting seeing how reservists spend their weekends and understanding the demands it places on them and how they can bring their skills back to the company and share it with the rest of the team.
“I hadn’t been exposed to the Army before now, so I took this opportunity up straight away. I wanted to see how it compared to my civilian life.”
Warrant Officer Class 2 Steve Hutchinson, youth engagement officer for the Army’s Headquarters in the North West, added: “We hope this experience will remain with these trainees as they progress through their civilian careers.
“It will help them better support the Reservists who work on their staff and perhaps a few of them will even consider joining as Army Reserve officers.”
James said he’s learned some valuable lessons which he’ll take back to the office: “I wanted to compare the way I approach tasks in my civilian life to the way the Army approach things, particularly looking at the way they prepare people for leadership.
“It’s important that we take what we can from this Army experience and pass it back across to the business.”
