Sarah Grayston, 30 and from Manchester, is a Principle Consultant Engineer at Amec Foster Wheeler, where she is part of a team which provides independent nuclear safety and technical advice to the Ministry of Defence. In her spare time, she is also an Army Reservist serving with 103 Regiment Royal Artillery where she works with a team to operate the 105mm field light gun.
Through her Reserve service Sarah has had experiences very different to her civilian working environment. One memorable recent experience was being part of the national commemorations in Manchester marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Sarah was part of the team which conducted the two gun salute to mark the beginning and end of the minute’s silence.
Sarah’s employer, Amec Foster Wheeler, are very supportive of her Reserve duties, allowing her an extra five days paid leave above her normal allowance for training. This enables Sarah to complete a two-week annual training camp, and helps minimise the impact on her family time.
Sarah said: “I think my employer values some of the ‘softer’ military skills I have gained by being a Reservist such as leadership, problem solving and a can-do attitude. One aspect of my wider training that I have applied is the Army Leadership Code. I think it’s a really neat way of distilling the elements of a good leader and is something I have translated into my civilian employment.
“The benefits to me are that I am in a totally different environment and role compared to my civilian job, experiencing different challenges and learning new skills. I think that it’s these life experiences that sometimes set you apart from other employees in the work place.”
