Darren Wilks has recently joined BJF Group as an Electrician working on our recently extended Facilities Management contract with Amey Defence for the MoD following 23 years in the British Army.

We caught up with him to find out more about his history and what made him decide to join us.

How did you find BJF Group?

At the beginning of the year (2020) I attended a military open industry day focused on construction, organised by a charity called Buildforce. At the event I spoke with a representative from a major FM company who in turn forwarded my CV to BJF Group.

In May, a BJF Group Project Manager contacted me and invited me for an interview and during the interview we decided that the best course of action was for me to join BJF Group in a work placement position and in July I began working for the Facilities Management division and met the rest of the team.  In September I was thrilled to receive an employment offer and happily accepted.

What made you decide to work for BJF Group?

My interview with BJF Group was my first ever job interview so as you can imagine I was pretty nervous as I arrived at our Headquarters.

The interviewer, almost instantly, made me feel welcomed and helped to ease my nerves as he explained how the different divisions were organised and how they worked within the company. He recognised my relative lack of experience at working outside of the military bubble and helped to formulate the work placement plan to aid my transition out of the Army.

Once I met the remainder of the FM Division, I was in no doubt that BJF Group was the place for me. My team have been extremely welcoming and have vast experience and electrical knowledge which has helped me to expand my electrical abilities in the short time I have been here.

The ability to learn new skills from them, the familiar surroundings of the MOD sites in which I work, in addition to expert leadership has definitely cemented my decision to work for the BJF Group.

Tell us a bit more about your life before BJF Group.

I was in the British Army for 23 years.  I joined the Royal Artillery as a Gunner in 1997 aged 16 and will officially leave as a Warrant Officer Class 1 in November this year.  In my final tour of duty I was primarily employed as the team lead for all welfare and discipline issues for all personnel employed within the Royal Artillery Trials and Development Unit. In addition, I was also tasked with assisting team members, where required, to test and evaluate new equipment procured into the Royal Artillery.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I assisted in the planning and delivery of the air security plan for the 2012 London Olympic games.

 

We are delighted to have Darren on board and wish him every success for his future at BJF Group. Fancy working for us? Find out more on our People Page or take a look at our current vacancies.