Joe Gibbons, EV Project Manager, appointed a Project RECCE ambassador

Project RECCE is a registered charity that amongst their work, creates ‘Pathways into Construction’ through an online course. The two-week course aims “to prepare veterans and service leavers for a sustainable career in the UK construction industry, regardless of their previous experience."

The charity uses a network of ambassadors, who volunteer their time to support the program, with Joe Gibbons, EV Project Manager, recently joining the charity in this role.

Participants of Project RECCE benefit from:

• A growing network within the construction industry
• Introductions to fellow veterans
• Industry-recognised qualifications such as a CSCS card and H&S qualifications. This allows participants to take their service skills and apply them within the industry

We spoke with Joe to understand more about Project RECCE and his new volunteer role at the charity.

How did you become involved with Project RECCE?

I got involved with Project RECCE this time last year [Summer 2022] during my resettlement period from the Army, when I went through the pathways to construction course. The course is designed to give serving military personnel and veterans insight into the construction industry.

This is done by speaking to multiple different companies within the industry, learning about all the different opportunities and roles, and giving support after the course in the forms of work placements and job offers.

What does your ambassador role entail?

Since starting my role here I now have a re-occurring slot on the course to talk about Ground Control, the opportunities within the business, and my journey from finishing the course last year.

I have been involved in a volunteering day to plant trees around their new HQ building that had been donated by the Woodland Trust. I also had the opportunity to represent the charity and meet the Mayor of Manchester.

What was the process of becoming an ambassador – and what does it mean to you?

There was no formal process as such, but after so many times returning to the course, I was asked by the CEO and COO if it was something I would be interested in. To me, it was an achievement as I felt like it was them saying thank you for the efforts I had put in. Likewise, to return something to the charity is a great feeling.

I feel that it’s something that I can bring to Ground Control by helping with recruitment as well as getting the charity’s name and brand out there alongside other tier-one contractors.

What is the future for you and Project RECCE?

I would like to carry on delivering on the course and gaining interest in Ground Control from the candidates. We have also spoken with Project RECCE, and they are going to aid with setting up the Armed Forces/ Blue Light Community within Ground Control as they have a lot of experience in this area and have completed this for other companies and have a network of charities for mental health and support.

My goal by the end of the financial year is to host a charity fundraiser with the support of Ground Control for Project RECCE.

Recently you met with the Mayor of Greater Manchester to talk about the project, can you tell us more?

He visited the charity HQ in April. He was introduced to the founders and members of the board of trustees on arrival, who then introduced him to us as the ambassadors and other beneficiaries.

We got to talk to him about our journeys from the military into the roles that we are in now within the construction industry. He was a very relaxed individual and was genuinely intrigued by what we had to say about our journeys and how Project RECCE had supported us. He was then invited to give a small talk about what he had seen about the charity and his plans moving forward.

He is very interested in making Greater Manchester the best place in the UK for veterans. With the support of different charities, such as Project RECCE, and aims to get veterans off the streets of Manchester, which as the city has one of the highest numbers of homeless veterans in the UK. The day finished with an open forum where he talked to all the attendees individually or in a group to hear more about how he could help. The other great thing about the day was to finally meet, in person, some of the other employers and ambassadors.