Lisa Evans talks about her role as Enabling Services Manager at the Royal Navy Submarine Training Centre (RNSTC), running the team that ensures the planning and delivery of 1,500 Royal Navy training courses.
After 15 years in the Royal Navy, I decided to transition to civilian life in 2016 but to continue working within international defence training. As a single mum with a young son, whilst I was at sea for 3 months, I experienced first-hand the need to get back to shore, and how that relied heavily on having someone fully trained, lined up, ready to replace me. There’s a critical momentum to that succession planning.
It’s no doubt one reason that I’m focused and driven to ensure that my team performs accurate and robust planning and delivery of 1,500 different Royal Navy training courses, up to 18 months in advance; to get better trained people to the frontline, faster. Every possible eventuality must be proactively considered to prevent disruption to training delivery: for example, holidays, instructor absences, changes to training requirements that impact training task lists, resource availability…there are many variables that influence our schedule.
Currently I’m also working on transitioning training delivery from HMS Raleigh to HMNB Clyde in preparation for the Royal Navy Submarine Training Centre (RNSTC). I love the flexibility and freedom that working with a great team affords me, and that I’m still working with uniformed peers. We pull together to get the job done, no matter how challenging it can be, and my manager empowers me to manage my team, resources, and time to be the best I can be on this contract. It’s one reason I’m able to decide where I’m working on most days – sometimes it’s from home, sometimes from an HMS location.
And it’s how – 19 years after my son was born at sea – I’m able to watch his Royal Navy Basic Training Passing Out Parade from the very place I work! It’s going to be an extraordinarily proud moment.
