“BuildForce is incredibly proud to be working with the most talented individuals in their fields. We have a team who are incredible in their focus, drive and passion.
The collaboration between our delivery, education and mental health partners ensure the needs of our service leavers and veterans are front and foremost of everything we do.” Angela Forbes, Chief Exec
As one of the UK’s leading construction logistics providers, Wilson James provide flexible solutions and support services that enable their clients to concentrate on their core project objectives. Their clients rely on Wilson James to design, plan and deliver a bespoke logistics solution, from the planning and pre-construction phase of a project through to completion.
Wilson James, since its inception in 1991, has drawn on the military routes of its co-owner Gary Sullivan. Blended with their wealth of construction experience, Wilson James has become one of the most successful logistical providers in the UK. They are a leading example in industry of employment of ex-military and the diverse benefits it brings.
Caroline is the BuildForce Programme Director. Caroline is passionate about people and building relationships, which drives her support of the ex-military community and connecting them within the construction industry and wider built environment.
Caroline leads both our Industry and our Wellbeing & Sports programmes, directing our Operations team, with particular focus on the importance of sport, activity and wellbeing.
Kathleen is a BuildForce Support Manager, enriching our nationwide team with a focus on North of England and Scotland and leading our Mentoring Programme.
Kathleen has an honours degree in Social Science, a higher diploma in Human Relations, with a successful 10-year career in HR.
Kathleen is a military spouse, who most recently has focused on raising her two young daughters, whilst developing many transferable skills navigating round military life.
Alex is a BuildForce Support Manager, responsible for leading our Service Leavers and Veterans through their BuildForce journey, and responsible for our After-Care programme.
Alex has degrees in both History and in Law and has previously worked in private practice within the legal profession, specialising in Family Law. Alex is also our Legal Counsel.
Leya is a member of the BuildForce support team. Leya supports the operations team with all functions in the engagement with our Service Leavers and Veterans and with our digital platforms.
Leya graduated with a BA in Economics at the prestigious Goldsmiths University of London and a Masters in Planning, Growth & Regeneration at Cambridge University.
Randa is a member of the BuildForce support team. Randa is responsible for all administrative tasks in the engagement with our Service Leavers and Veterans and is EA to our Chief Exec.
Randa has a wealth of experience including 8 years within the construction industry.
Katie is a member of the BuildForce support team. Katie supports our team with administrative tasks in the engagement with our Service Leavers and Veterans and with our digital platforms.
Katie graduated with a First Class BSc (Hons) Biology with Psychology, Lancaster University.
As Managing Director of Construction Logistics, Tony has over 40 years’ experience and an in depth understanding of the sector.
The division employees a high proportion of ex-service personnel and has also been able to welcome numerous colleagues from BuildForce. As Executive Sponsor for the programme, Tony not only advocates within Wilson James but across his extensive network of client organisations
Nick is Chief of Staff at Wilson James and a Buildforce graduate.
He came to his role after a full career in the Army; he knew that he wanted a senior organisational role but was not completely sure what he was looking for until Buildforce connected him with Wilson James.
He is a strong believer in BuildForce’s ability to connect the talent leaving HM Forces with opportunities in the Construction sector.
Cadence is head of Wilson James’ internal and external communications strategy, including PR campaigns with our industry partners.
Her background includes marketing and PR management in the construction and built environment. She is also a third-generation military “brat” with proud family ties in the military communities of both the UK and US.
MHS was established by Bernie Graham in 2006 and is committed to facilitating training that both raises awareness of mental health problems and also provides a means of addressing these serious health concerns for all organisations. The training is appropriate for customer focused businesses and organisations, particularly for those providing care and support.
Bernie Graham, Psychologist and Director of MHS, has worked in the mental health field for over 25 years. He has extensive experience of supporting people with ‘severe and enduring’ mental health problems and managing support teams. 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.
UCEM is the leading provider of supported online education for the Built Environment, with over 100 years’ experience of providing the highest quality learning opportunities. Providing award-winning online learning programmes; at any one time, UCEM has more than 4,000 students from more than 100 countries benefiting from our qualifications. UCEM helps to enhance Built Environment professional careers through accredited property-related and construction programmes, offered at Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Apprenticeship levels.
Meet some of the UCEM academic team behind the BuildForce modules:
Afolabi Dania joined the UCEM as a tutor for Construction Project Management from the University of Reading where he was a doctoral student.
Afolabi graduated with a BSc in Building in 2002 and specialised in Construction Management at the Masters Level. He lectured in Nigeria for 5 years before proceeding to undertake his Doctoral research. Afolabi also has practical, on-site experience stemming from Freelance Construction Management and Consultancy roles.
In a career that spans over 34 years and two continents, from provision of IT services and training to lecturing in the Built Environment, Jon understands that very often it seems the only constant is change. Programme Leader in the UCEM Construction faculty, Jon is a graduate in Architectural Technology from the University of West London (UWL)
Karl’s career has progressed from being an apprentice electrician to a consultant and lecturer. He has worked in facilities management for Marks and Spencer and as a building surveying for Atkins Asset Management. Karl is a member of the CIOB and a fellow of the HEA. During his time at UCEM Karl has been very much involved with entry level programmes and apprenticeship delivery.
A Certified project manager and qualified quantity surveyor with over 12 years’ experience having worked in both the construction industry and IT industry.
The BuildForce pre-learning modules are hosted on the UCEM Online Academy. Carmel has a background in online development, project management and product management both at UCEM and in the Financial Services industry.