Maggie McCann is among more than 100 people to have gained employment on Britain’s new high-speed railway as part of a programme to encourage former services personnel into the construction industry.
She recently joined HS2 as a consents manager – helping to secure the environmental and planning consents needed to build the railway – and is now urging others to consider a similar career path. It comes ahead of a dedicated open day for former Armed Forces personnel in the West Midlands next week.
Maggie, now 35, from Lincolnshire, had aspired to be a pilot after leaving school and secured a university bursary with the RAF to study Aeronautical Engineering.
She excelled in her studies at Loughborough University, graduating with a first-class degree, but her plans took a change of course when she discovered she didn’t meet the medical standards to be a pilot. Undeterred, and spurred on by the RAF’s investment in her, Maggie secured an engineering officer role, initially stationed at RAF Marham, where she was responsible for maintaining frontline Tornado aircraft.
Thirteen years later, with two international tours under her belt, Maggie decided it was time for change. She’d had a hugely rewarding career, securing promotions and career changes along the way. The RAF had also been instrumental in her personal life; Maggie met her husband, and they went on to have two children. But after 13 years’ service, she found herself longing for a new challenge.
The decision to leave was daunting. The RAF was all that Maggie had known, and she initially had no idea how to apply her skillset on civvy street. She turned for help to BuildFore, a collaborative industry-led programme that supports ex-Armed Forces personnel into long-term employment within the construction sector through their rich wraparound career service.
An initial phone call led to a mentoring session with BuildForce’s Chief Executive, where Maggie discussed her skills, experience, and career aspirations. The meeting would prove to be the turning point in her career.
Four years earlier, in 2021, HS2 launched an initiative to support unemployed and under-represented groups into employment. A partnership with BuildForce cemented the commitment to helping former armed service personnel access new careers.
Since that day, over one hundred people, referred by BuildForce, have gone on to secure new careers on HS2. Around 60% of those have been placed into roles with HS2’s West Midlands construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), and the construction giant is delighted to welcome Maggie - their first female former services recruit through the BuildForce partnership.
Maggie joined BBV in the new year as consents manager, a role which requires extensive liaison with the Environment Agency and local authorities to secure environmental consents and ensure HS2’s construction works are compliant with legislation.
Maggie was able to draw on her experience in the RAF, where she had progressed into both policy-focused and contract management roles, responsible for the delivery of major contracts and a team of over 150 people.
Reflecting on her experience and her new job supporting Britain’s biggest infrastructure programme, Maggie said:
“I’m enormously grateful for the warm welcome I’ve received, since joining Balfour Beatty VINCI three months ago. From day one, I’ve felt supported by my colleagues and the BuildForce team, as I get to grips with my new role, in a new industry.
“I’m excited for this new challenge, and to play my part in helping to deliver HS2 in the West Midlands.”
With a career that has taken her across the world Maggie, who was born and raised in Aberdeen, now divides her time between her family home in Lincolnshire and Coventry in the West Midlands so she is closer to work during the week. Maggie credits her employer for allowing her to work flexibly, which means she can balance the demands of her new career and raising her two young children.
Andrew Bellingall, Senior Project Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI, leads the team that Maggie has joined. Andrew, who is also a Buildforce Ambassador, said:
“Maggie brings a tremendous amount of experience and transferable skills from her time in the RAF, which is already benefiting the wider team. Like Maggie, I also transitioned from a rewarding career in the Armed Forces to an equally rewarding career in construction.
“I’d encourage other service leavers thinking about taking the next step in their career to join BBV and be part of the biggest infrastructure project in the UK.”
Tasked with constructing a 90km section of the HS2 route across the Midlands, BBV is actively seeking to bolster its workforce, and hopes to encourage more former services personnel to explore new career opportunities with them.
In partnership with BuildForce, BBV will host a dedicated open day for ex-services personnel at its construction site in Kingsbury, Warwickshire on Thursday, 27th March, and Maggie will take to the stage to discuss her transition from the military to civvy street.
Recognising the mental and physical challenges that many former service personnel have experienced, HS2 and its contractors go the extra mile to provide mentors, coaching and wrap around support services to promote mental health and wellbeing for every new recruit. New starters are also assigned a work buddy, dedicated to supporting their career transition.
Caroline Logan, Programme Director at BuildForce, said:
"Maggie was an absolute delight to work with. We assigned her a BBV mentor, a former BuildForce candidate, and worked together to match her military skillets to the consents manager role. Maggie joins a long line of military personnel we have supported into new careers on HS2, and through our partnership with BBV we have built a robust internal military network.
"The depth of skillsets within our military community is constantly responding to the changing needs of HS2 and we look forward to supporting more ex-military candidates onto the project in the future."
Armed Forces personnel who are struggling to secure employment and have an interest in supporting HS2’s construction, are encouraged to attend Balfour Beatty VINCI’s project day on 27 March 2025. For more information, visit the BuildForce website, or to register for the event, visit BuildForce Armed Forces Project Day with Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) Tickets, Thu 27 Mar 2025 at 09:00 | Eventbrite
