On this episode we talk to our very own Becky Hopwood from the RFS Career Academy. Becky is the Coaching and Mentoring lead for the career academy and is now a ‘veteran’ spouse after her husband retired from the Royal Engineers after 16 years. In 12 years of moving around together they moved 9 times so she really understands the challenges of trying to have a career and a good family life! Becky first got involved with Recruit For Spouses after she took a step back from her HR career after having their first daughter. She had started her coaching qualification and had started a small CV writing business with military spouses. That was back in 2016... Becky now manages all of the people involved in either of the programmes and that includes speaking to all of the military spouses and the coaches and mentors!If you’d like to find out more about the RFS Career Academy, click this link... - https://careers.recruitforspouses.co.uk

On this episode we talk to Alix, Kate and Boo from Forces Wives Challenge...Alix is currently based in Glasgow where she runs her own marketing consultancy and training business in the field of life sciences. Boo is based in Wiltshire and runs her own business focused on Sports and Physical Rehabilitation.Kate is currently based in Buckinghamshire where she is working as a GP.They along with 9 other ladies are set to become the world’s first all-female team to retrace the steps of one of the most important missions in World War II history.We can hear about the selection process, the training and how they’re feeling.We hope you enjoy the episode!  

In this episode we’re joined by Pip and Jools from Edge NLP!At Edge NLP their aim is to not only teach, but to guide, inspire, motivate and help people change their lives.We talk about how they do that and how important it is to take a step back and evaluate the way you do things and present yourself.Everyone at Edge has a real passion for NLP, they combine passion with a zest for life and take great pleasure in creating extraordinary training experiences.Whether you’re at a cross roads in your life and in need of some inspiration, you’re keen to become a coach or you’re interested in how NLP can benefit your business, you should check them out.This is their website - https://edgenlp.co.ukWe hope you enjoy the episode!

This week we’re joined by Steve Leach who has served as a member of Alexander Mann Solutions’ Executive Team since 2005.  Having joined the business in 1999, he's has held a variety of operational, management and executive roles and is currently Managing Director, UK & Ireland.  Passionate about enabling the AMS team to be the best they can be, Steve’s focus is working with our clients to develop relationships and solutions to enable success through the delivery of innovative, value creating Talent Acquisition and Management solutions.  A recognised thought leader, Steve is a regular contributor to news articles and fundamentally believes that people are the foundation of success.We hope you enjoy the episode! 

The number 13 is unlucky for some... Not for us though because this week we're talking to Jo Salter, the UK's very first female fighter jet pilot! Jo Salter flew the Tornado ground attack aircraft with 617 Squadron in the Royal Air Force. She later became an inspirational speaker and in November 2016 she joined PwC as a director and Chief of Staff, responsible for digital capabilities within the People and Organisation practice.Jo has first hand experience of challenge and change, requiring tenacity, determination, flexibility and an excellent sense of humour. She's backed by a degree in Electronic Systems Engineering and an MBA. Her inspirational speeches have introduced her to a vast range of businesses and, whether it be 25 at a breakfast briefing in The Ivy or 3000 at an international conference centre, Jo entertains, challenges and inspires. She is also the author of two books focusing on using personal energy for high achievement.We hope you enjoy our chat with Jo! 

This week, as part of our Diversity Month, we are honoured to be joined by Penny Mansfield CBE who is the director of One Plus One.One Plus One is a UK charity that creates resources that strengthen relationships.Relationships are as diverse and as complicated as they are necessary and fulfilling.Whether romantic, platonic or professional, you'll find Penny's insights and knowledge timeless and important - especially in our current climate. Penny and her diverse team help couples and parents through a range of web-services.Their online learning equips frontline workers with the skills to offer timely relationship support in a face to face setting.Based on the latest research evidence, their work promotes early action in relationship support.Aiming to equip people with the skills and knowledge to work on relationship issues before they become entrenched. The result is couples, parents and children who are happier, healthier, and more successful."We really hope you enjoy the episode! 

On this weeks episode we're talking to military spouse Louise Fetigan who is the founder of the charity Little Troopers. Louise herself served in the British Army and saw active service in Kosovo. Her husband is also currently a serving soldier and has undertaken seven operational tours of duty since their daughter was born in 2003. Louise is passionate about helping all the Little Troopers at home through the anxiety of deployment, the process of moving house and school frequently and keeping parent and child connected having experienced first hand the impact it can have. We talk to her about what is changing now and how the pandemic has affected our military families. We hope you enjoy the episode and please share it far and wide! 

Our guest this week is Heather Sharp from Forces Wives Challenge.Heather graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2005, commissioning into the Royal Engineers. Throughout her 10 year career in the Regular Army, she had the opportunity to deploy to Afghanistan and take part in expeditions around the world - enjoying all the opportunities for adventure and travel that a military career offers. In 2007, Heather married a fellow serving officer and when their family grew, the pressures of bringing up a young family meant that in 2014 she took the difficult decision to leave. Heather now saw life on the other side of the fence and found it much tougher. Her eyes were opened to the incredible sacrifices made by those that hold the fort at home and she really wanted to give something back by providing opportunities for this community to have a taste of the exciting adventures, teamwork and sense of belonging she had enjoyed in the military. And so the Forces Wives Challenge (FWC) was born, seeking to unite women with partners in the military through adventure and challenge.Since its creation in 2018, FWC has completed a number of exciting adventures from the flagship expedition to Chile where they climbed the highest volcano in the world, to the iconic Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the National 3 Peaks and Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. FWC is growing rapidly with over the 600 members nationally and their events having raised over £30,000 for charity!We hope you enjoy the episode.

This week we are talking to Angela Forbes and Bernie Graham from BuildForce about why networking is such an important element to career progression and transition.Angela Forbes gained a Bovis scholarship in 1997 as an undergraduate Commercial Manager and has been with the Lendlease business for 23 years. She has also been a Commercial Director in the London construction business for the last 8 years.Angela created the Lendlease ex-military initiative in 2008, She's an ambassador of the construction industry within the Armed Forces and was a founding partner of BuildForce at its inception in 2011.In addition, Angela has been a non-executive director of a housing provider and social regeneration charity; a board director of Be Onsite – a not-for-profit company dedicated to helping disadvantaged people and a school governor at Chobham Academy in Stratford, London (a Harris Federation school)."Bernie Graham is a Psychologist and Director of Mental Health Support. He's worked in the mental health field for over 25 years and has extensive experience of supporting people with ‘severe and enduring’ mental health problems. Staff training has been an intrinsic part of his work throughout his career. Bernie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the British Psychological Society.In 2006, Bernie launched MHS in order to focus on delivering a range of courses and workshops aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues and how to address them.Bernie offers 1-2-1 counselling and group workshops to the BuildForce programme and runs regular stress management workshops for our veterans, interactive workshops exploring the relationship between stress and mental health enabling participants to recognise the signs/symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression; relating this to a construction site and how this can affect site safety."We hope you enjoy the episode and if you would like to find out any more information about BuildForce, just head to their website - www.buildforce.org.uk 

Our guest in this episode is Charlotte Sjoberg, a Communications Director at Virgin.She's also a Military spouse and talks about the reality of juggling a full-time role for a big Corporate Brand with a young family. She also tells us how she started working for Virgin.Charlotte has been “doing” communications for nearly two decades now – Having cut her teeth in the financial sector including launching and floating one of them, she’s racked up a fair chunk of experience across internal and external communication over the years.Having joined Virgin Red, the Virgin Group’s new rewards club, as Corporate Affairs Director at the beginning of 2020, 2021 sees Charlotte take on a new role within the Virgin family as Communications Director for Virgin UK (alongside her Virgin Red responsibilities too).Living in the middle of nowhere with her two young boys and serving husband, she enjoys the quiet life – which is fortunate during lockdown – giving her plenty of time to support her local vineyards. When she’s not working or entertaining the family, she’s teaching herself to play the piano, dabbles in musical theatre (she used to be a professional tap dance teacher) and eating way too much pasta.