Ex-Forces
Paul Brown
20.02.2020
We are delighted and proud to showcase one of our consultants and winner of the prestigious Scottish Ex-Forces in Business Awards 2019, Amanda Scott. She happily shared her insights into the challenges and achievements she has experienced prior to and during her journey at FDM.
What were you doing before FDM?
I have been serving in the Army Reserves for 14 years. I was on an additional duties commitment with the Reserves prior to joining FDM, as part of the Regimental Recruiting and Mentoring team. My role involved attending recruitment events and promoting the Army Reserves to the public.
How does your current role play a part in the day-to-day running of the business?
I have recently transitioned to a new role in Student Loans Company as the PSO for Technology Group procurement team. My day-to-day duties include carrying out project support administrative tasks, managing the Risk and Issues register, arranging meetings for the team with stakeholders and communications with senior stakeholders.
What has been the toughest moment of your career so far and how did you deal with this?
My toughest moment so far was when I went on-site. I was placed as Service Desk Analyst and quickly moved over to Desktop Support to help enable some of the service improvement plans. Having no desktop support experience or training was tough. To overcome this, I utilised the online training via FDM Pluralsight and had to lean on team members around me to share their knowledge.
What has been your proudest moment?
My proudest moment so far would have to be in my placement with DWP. As part of their IT insourcing project, I was a team leader involved in the rebuilding of devices and upskilling. I am very proud of myself and my team who rebuilt, upskilled and reissued Surface Pro devices to 144 people per day. It was a busy, fast-paced job but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges it brought and seeing the numbers we achieved at the end of each day made it worth it.
Congratulations on your Scottish Ex-Forces in Business Awards! What does this mean for you?
It can be quite demanding with an advancing career with FDM and still maintaining my career with the Army Reserves. I find it very humbling for my commitment to the Army Reserves to have been recognised. It encourages me to keep going and give both careers my maximum effort.
What do you think are two important skills you learnt in the military that you’ve been able to transfer into your civilian work?
In my first placement, I was working long hours and I was traveling a lot. My job could be very demanding and not without troubles. Having resilience to get myself and the team through the difficult times is a skill I’ve gained from the military. Teamwork is also a valuable skill I was able to put into use. I’ve been able to encourage and guide a team to achieve better results.