Traffic Light Epiphany: How a Former Teacher Found His Calling at Babcock
Kurtis Buckley realised he was in the wrong profession when, as a busy history teacher, he found himself considering marking homework while sitting in his car at a red light.
It was time to change his life, and today things couldn’t be more different. As a Junior Project Manager with Babcock International Group, he’s left homework behind and is at the heart of the nation’s defence sector – no longer just working a job, but contributing to the safety, progress and future of the country.
Following the traffic lights incident eight years ago, just 12 months into his teaching career, he decided to leave. With an existing connection to his father’s concreting business, he took the opportunity to join the firm. After seven years working his way up, Kurtis had gained experience in every aspect of the trade. “I was in a good position because I could do a lot of roles within the firm, including its management,” he says.
Always keen to learn and develop his skills, he began studying for a Higher National Certificate/Diploma in Construction Management. However, limited opportunities to progress in his father’s company led him to consider alternatives. After meeting a senior Babcock employee through his coursework and recognising the potential of the defence sector, he decided to move to Babcock with his father’s blessing.
The switch has proved the perfect one and he has come through his course with flying colours. The course blends a mixture of practical and academic learning and gives Kurtis the opportunity to take a further course which will enable him to achieve a Foundation Degree, which he is now beginning.
Kurtis speaks highly of the College’s teaching programme: “The one-day-a-week format meant I could study while continuing to work. The teaching provision is excellent, and from the very beginning I felt I was learning a great deal. Although my background was in civil construction, the course quickly broadened my knowledge. I became particularly interested in renewables and future technologies, which connected directly to my role at Babcock and made everything feel aligned.”
He also studied contract management, which helped him on the commercial navigation side of his day job. “Everything I have learned about these aspects of the job has come through College,” he adds.
Kurtis also developed a good relationship with his lecturers, who he says offered a combination of practical and academic rigour that has benefited him and all the other students. “They bring both hands-on experience and technical knowledge. They’re just incredibly smart people,” he says.
Today, aged 31, Kurtis is part of Babcock International Group’s Estates team, looking after much of the buildings and infrastructure within Devonport. He feels the College courses have equipped him to better deliver individual projects because of the comprehensive nature of what he has learned. He also thinks College will directly help him with his next goal of achieving Project Manager status, as much of what he has learned will be useful in the interview process. “I feel at home in this sector, the financial rewards are good and it’s a life with the right work-life balance, what’s not to love?”
