Beyond the wire: Building a project management career in defence webinar

On Thursday 16 April, the APM Defence Sector Interest Network hosted its inaugural webinar. This milestone event brought together service personnel, transitioning veterans, and industry professionals to explore how military experience can act as a golden thread within the project management profession.

Our expert panel provided a clear and practical roadmap for navigating this transition. Neil Buckley challenged the audience to define the “what” before the “how”, emphasising that before investing in qualifications, leavers should identify their target industry sector and location. Only then, he argued, does it make sense to pursue bolt-on qualifications, such as Risk or Controls, that align directly with those goals.

Neil Bloom focused on the vital art of language translation. He shared strategies for stripping away military jargon and reframing experience in the professional language of project management, enabling service leavers to communicate their leadership and delivery achievements in terms that resonate with civilian employers.

Jeremy Nicholls, author of The Everyday Project Manager, concluded by highlighting that preparation for a PM career is about mastering the everyday skills used by effective managers in any context. He offered practical guidance on when to begin this preparation and how to plan a smooth shift from military operations into project delivery.

The energy during this webinar demonstrated a strong appetite for joining the dots between these two worlds. Our Network’s mission is to help fill these knowledge gaps and provide a platform where the project profession and the defence sector can grow together.

What’s next? Continue the conversation on the APM Community platform. We want to grow in response to your needs.

Webinar resources

The panel have kindly allowed their presented material to be made available for viewing. The webinar recording on Vimeo and the slides on Slideshare, are now available in our APM resources area and also embedded below for reference.

The questions submitted during the broadcast are being reviewed, and as an additional resource the answers will be added shortly were possible.

This webinar is suitable for professionals with any level of experience. 

 

Host and speaker panel

Introduction from
Phil Mitten – Who We Are - LinkedIn

A short introduction that sets the scene for the webinar by explaining the purpose of the APM Defence Sector Interest Network, who it serves, and how it supports the defence project management community.
Phil is a Defence Programme Manager and APM Defence Sector Interest Network Deputy Lead volunteer, committed to strengthening the connection between the defence community and the wider project profession while supporting people moving into project delivery careers.
 
Speaker panel
Our expert panel brings together three distinguished speakers with deep experience across defence and industry:

Neil Buckley MAPM, Project Manager in Energy, Mott MacDonald – LinkedIn
A Project Manager in Energy since 2023, on completion of 24 years’ service in 1 Mercian where he left as a Colour Sergeant. Neil currently works for a major supplier in the energy sector on a major engineering project his second deployment to a client since joining Mott MacDonald. He is committed to helping service leavers from all backgrounds step into Project Management.
The What Before the How
Gain practical guidance on identifying the right industry sectors, locations, and supplementary qualifications to pursue before diving into specific project management methodologies.

Carl Walker Eng (Hons) CEng ChPP PMP MIET MAPM, Principle Engineer, RB Safety Consultants Ltd – LinkedIn
My Journey from Junior Sailor to Chartered Project Professional
A lived experience from serving in the Royal Navy as a junior engineer through to APM Chartered Project Professional in Civvy Street.

 
Jeremy Nicholls, Independent project management consultant and book author, The Everyday Project Manager – LinkedIn

The Transition into Project Management
Hear actionable advice from an industry coach, consultant, and author of The Everyday Project Manager on how and when to prepare for a successful, long-term career shift.

Panel host: Shane Lewis, Senior Associate Project Manager, and APM Defence Sector Interest Network Lead volunteer

Passionate about developing future leaders, he is committed to mentoring aspiring project managers and creating pathways that empower them to make a meaningful, lasting impact.