Blog: Andrew Waddington, Armed Forces careers

As part of Armed Forces Week 2025, we spoke to a number of our Armed Forces personnel across Morgan Sindall Construction. In this interview we spoke to Andrew Waddington, head of design for our team in London.

Andrew joined the Royal Engineers at the age of 16 and served for 19 years in total from 1988 to 2007. As part of his role he travelled around the world designing and building structures and infrastructure, visiting places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Sierra Leone.

I joined the Royal Engineers Army Apprentices College at the tender age of 16 and trained as a design draughtsman (or architectural technician). I then went to the Royal School of Military Engineering where I completed my Class 1 design draughtmans course, returning there later to do a two-year Military Clerk of Works Construction course.

After completing my training I completed tours in several countries around the world utilising my key skills in engineering, construction and project management to build bases, roads and infrastructure.

What did you do when you left the military?

When I left the Royal Engineers, I started as a senior site manager at Barrett Homes London and delivered a 242-unit residential job in Feltham. Coming out of the military there's always gaps in your knowledge because they don't do curtain walling, lifts, or tower cranes. Moving into the construction industry, I needed to fill those gaps, which I did very well at Barrett’s, gaining some great experience there. After Barrett’s I joined BAM for six years as a design manager, something I’d never heard of before seeing the role advertised, I had no idea what design management was about. I enjoyed it and I've continued in design management ever since.

Andrew joined Morgan Sindall Construction in 2020 and is Head of Design for the London and Home Counties region.

What do you think are the benefits of joining our business following a career in the forces?

The way we look after our staff, and train them, I think, lies very well with helping people come out of the forces.

We're part of the Armed Forces Covenant and as part of the Covenant Morgan Sindall Construction gives 10 days additional paid leave a year so that Reservists can go on their annual training camp without having to sacrifice salary or valuable family time. So, if people don’t want to give up the armed forces completely, they can become a reservist. We also offer some additional leave for those volunteering as part of the army cadets.

We have an armed forces network within Morgan Sindall and this spans across all the companies. The type of support we offer individuals can vary based on what they need personally or the training requirements of the division they work for, for some it might be a mentor to help settle into their new working life or it could be additional learning. What we offer as a Group provides many viable options for people wanting to come out and get into the construction industry. The industry itself offers such a range of careers, from staying on the tools to site management, project management and environmental.

What do you think are the key transferable skills of people leaving the armed forces joining the construction sector?

In the forces you’re often put into situations that really test you. There's no more pressure than going into a conflict zone where people are trying to kill you. The skills used in these situations such as quick thinking, risk assessing and problem solving are all useful in your second career too.

You’re taught key skills around management and self-management, no matter your level, from basic management training from all the way up to the officers that come through Sandhurst.

Coming into the construction industry after their time is up, these key skills are second nature. It's much easier to teach people how curtain walling goes in or what to look for when you're installing a lift than the management skills they already have. It's trained and drilled into them daily.

Andrew’s advice for those leaving the Armed Forces and finding your next role:

I think the biggest piece of advice I can give is do your homework and work out what it is you want to do. The construction industry is huge and there are many varied roles. Anything from document control, to HR, to environmental roles to IT and quantity surveying. And there's transferable skills across all the roles. So don't just rule the construction industry out. It's not just all about building. Consider what you want to do within construction.

A lot of people coming out of the military want to be project managers because they think that's the level to come in at. But you also need to fill those scope gaps as a project manager running a project, everybody's looking at you for the answer. So maybe just think about the level. It's not always coming across at the same level you're at in the military, sometimes it's a step down, fill the knowledge gaps and you will rise back up very quickly.

Finally, the military is a career, and many people do make a career out of it, completing their 22 years, or even longer. When you're moving into whatever industry you go to, it is a second career. You've got lots to give, be confident in your skill set, don't undersell yourself.

Morgan Sindall Construction is also a founding partner of BuildForce, which is an alliance of construction employers, industry bodies and charities that support military service leavers to gain experience in construction. Visit https://www.buildforce.org.uk/ for more information.

Find out more about Armed Forces careers

Andrew's interview and others can be found in our Armed Forces booklet. Which also includes some of the advice compiled from our team for Armed Forces personnel seeking roles in the Construction industry.