by Rebekah Lee | Jan 1, 2022 | Interviews, PathFinders
In December 2015, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency made history when he became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
Flying with Expedition 46 aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-19M rocket alongside cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, Peake spent six months aboard the ISS. During his stay, he participated in a variety of experiments in biology, physics, and astronomy and supported a spacewalk for repair work before returning to Earth in June 2016
After completing his A-Levels, Peake graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. In 1994, he became a qualified helicopter pilot and having completed a degree in Flight Dynamics and Evaluation, spent time as a test pilot with AgustaWestland testing Apache attack helicopters.
Morson attended a seminar hosted by Tim Peake, who talked about his time in the armed forces, his training and how he overcame his own self-doubt. In addition, we were able to ask him some questions about STEM inclusion and the future of space travel.
Being part of a small crew on board the ISS astronauts are required to be a jack-of-all-trades – there is no dedicated engineer, technician or doctor. Tim Peake talks about the training regime:
“It was two and half years. First, we had to learn how to fly spacecraft, with the added burden of having to learn the Russian language! It’s the only language spoken in the Soyuz launch vehicle and all of the documents inside are written in Russian. After that, there was preparation for the physically demanding elements of the mission in the centrifuge, launch and re-entry.”
Training underwater simulated the weightless conditions of a spacewalk, and this covered how to replace and repair anything on the ISS. For true weightlessness, Peake experienced the Vomit Comet, an aircraft that flies in a parabola to produce around 30 seconds of zero gravity.
Being on the ISS for six months not only yields physical demands, but it can also be extremely mentally challenging. Tim Peake draws on his experience in the armed forces and how it helped:
“You do a lot of work on survival and living in a confined and stressful environment. Not only are you in a small space for six months but in an emergency situation, you could land anywhere in the world and have to await rescue. I learned from my time in the armed forces that in order to find out what someone is really like as a person, make them cold, wet, tired and hungry! Or take away their watches, let them sleep and wake them up after two hours telling them they’ve been asleep for eight. After six days of that, it becomes very psychologically demanding. Then, when they think they’re leaving, tell them there’s actually another two days. In the army, we call this dislocation of expectation.”
The launch pad that Peake took off from in December 2015 was the same one that the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, lifted off from in 1961. The Soyuz rocket had the thrust equivalent of 9 million horsepower.
During his time on the ISS, Peake conducted 250 experiments in the fields of fluid physics, pharmaceutical studies, biology and more. The mission was also an engineering study for future Mars missions, experimenting with ways to recycle oxygen and 80% of wastewater.
Peake will now spend two years on sabbatical from the ESA before his next trip to the ISS, working as a STEM ambassador and speaker to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and astronauts. We asked Peake about this:
You’ve done a lot of work promoting STEM in schools, helping to inspire the next generation of talent. What would an 11-year-old looking into their future career have to look forward to in terms of space travel?
“It’s really interesting actually. When I fly my next mission in 2023/24, it’s very likely I’ll be on board the ISS with commercial astronauts. Next year we’re looking at two new spacecraft, SpaceX and Boeing. They will be taking space agency astronauts but each year four fully paid commercial astronauts too. Space flight is becoming open to many more people. In 20 or 30 years I see it being like aviation. There will be a professional corps of astronauts but also commercial flight for civilians to enjoy.”
Did you ever have a significant setback when you thought you wouldn’t make it into space and you thought you just weren’t cut out for it?
“Every time I came out of my Russian language lessons I wondered if I was cut out for it! Language was hard for me. Science wasn’t an issue being a pilot, systems I lapped up and the physical training was great. One of the great things about the astronaut corps, 8,000 applied and it was whittled down to six, so everybody is there to help you through. There’s an amazing network and you’ll always find people to help. I worked particularly hard to get to the level I needed to be at.”
“It’s important – don’t let anybody ever tell you that you can’t do something if you’ve set your heart on it. Right from the early stages, I had setbacks. I was even told I wouldn’t be a pilot. But it’s about being passionate. You must have courage in your convictions to chart a course for yourself and fight for it. There was a lot of hard work along the way. I had to go back to education at the age of 33 to get a degree which was required for my career which was a lot of extra tuition. But it comes down to hard work and determination.”
by Rebekah Lee | Nov 15, 2021 | Morson news, Role models, Social responsibility
Morson Forces, our dedicated ex-forces recruitment division, has been recognised twice in the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards!
The British Ex-Forces in Business Awards are the world’s largest celebration of military veterans in second careers. The prestigious annual programme event uncovers the achievements of ex-military personnel, presenting them as important role models for current and future service leaders.
The awards highlight the military-gained skills and values that have helped enable their second career success and recognise the organisations that have supported them. Over 600 nominations were received in 2021, a record number.
Morson is shortlisted in the categories of Military Values in Business and Ex-Forces Initiative of the Year.
Pat McMullan: British Ex-Forces in Business Awards, Military Values in Business
The Military Values in Business Award recognises a former serviceman or woman, or a military partner, who has created successful business results and advanced their career by exhibiting and applying military virtues and values to their role and activities.
Judges look for specific examples of how military values and ethos, honed during the applicant’s time in the armed forces or as a military partner, were deployed in business scenarios to strong effect, generating results that were tangible for the organisation or praised and recognised by others for the positive effect they had.
Pat McMullan joined the RAF in 1978 in a personnel/HR role, overseeing a variety of services including junior administration across a range of airbases including RAF Marham and RAF High Wycombe, and spent 11 years working in Germany.
Since 2013, Pat McMullan has been the driving force behind Morson’s ability to channel ex-military personnel into new roles that benefit from the attributes and values they learned during their time in service. His role in this has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of retired service people, start a new chapter of their lives.
Furthermore, Pat has been influential in developing Morson’s reputation as the key recruitment group able to support ex-military personnel in this way. He’s achieved this through his ongoing commitment to developing partnerships with military organisations that share his passion for ensuring the key skills ex-armed forces people possess continue to be honed and developed once they have left their post.
Pat’s own military background feeds directly into our Group-wide purpose to support ex-military personnel into roles within the sectors we specialise. Many of our clients work in the aerospace, marine and nuclear industries, others are in manufacturing, engineering and construction; all require specialist and niche skillsets that come naturally to many ex-armed forces individuals, which any recruiter should be able to identify. However, they also require a certain set of values that a civilian recruiter with no military experience would find harder to spot. It’s here where Pat excels; able to perfectly understand the intricate challenges of a client working in the aerospace or marine sectors, Pat is able to identify fit-for-purpose candidates that can seamlessly slot into a business needing to scale up at pace, with the relevant experience.
Pat has forged a series of strategic relationships on Morson’s behalf to ensure we‘re positioned as the leading recruiter of ex-military personnel, including with the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP).
Formerly contracted with the armed forces to transition ex-military individuals back into employment, we now work closely with the CTP, supporting their recruitment events to encourage people to consider alternative roles after they have left post. Through his development and nurturing of the partnership, Pat has been integral to us being awarded Official Employer Status with the CTP, meaning we now career manage ex-forces individuals into employment for our various clients.
In 2017, Morson was also among the winners of the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award, the Ministry of Defence’s highest badge of honour for organisations that have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and demonstrated outstanding support for those who serve and have served.
It would be impossible to ignore the contribution Pat has made to our business in his role. Consistently exhibiting and applying military virtues and values to his role and activities, he is an example to other ex-service personnel of how with dedication for working life and with a passion to help others, a military career can lead to great things away from the forces.
Find out more about Morson Forces here
by Rebekah Lee | Nov 15, 2021 | Articles, Morson Screening, MSP, Talent Solutions, Technology
Aviation has been Morson’s bread and butter for more than 50 years, with aviation candidate screening in place for over a decade. As our candidate screening capabilities have accelerated over the years, so too has our ability to support the aviation industry with the complexities it experiences when it comes to recruitment.
Airports across the country are recording significant increases in flights to and from foreign destinations due to the relaxation in coronavirus restrictions on international travel. But given that aviation was one – if not the – industry most severely affected by the pandemic, how are firms preparing to gear back up as traveller numbers make a slow and steady recovery to pre-lockdown levels?
At the beginning of the year, when Boris Johnson first announced his roadmap out of restrictions, several airlines recorded a jump in holiday bookings. It saw shares surge, as some firms experienced sales increases of more than 600 per cent in the space of a week. Now, many are looking ahead to upcoming half terms and the winter season and are predicting even more buoyancy for the aviation industry.
But for the sector to truly bounce back will require recruitment strategies outside of the norm. Given that almost 60 per cent of the 320,000 people working in aviation in the UK alone were, in February, out of work – either having been made redundant or on furlough – the pre-COVID HR and recruitment processes that supported the well-oiled machines of airports will no longer be fit for purpose.
The list of jobs within aviation doesn’t start and end with pilots and cabin crew. It also consists of ground handling specialists, baggage handlers, fuel drivers, security officers, air traffic controllers, aircraft technicians and more. The wealth of roles is extensive and lots of these people, though expectedly keen to return to work at the earliest opportunity, are facing some of the most complex obstacles to work any of us have ever experienced.
Primarily, with the CJRS scheme now over, those who were on furlough until the end of September but aren’t yet required back at work will likely have been made redundant. Additionally, we see big challenges when it comes to sourcing talent for the roles that are in demand. The Government has announced it will be making thousands of temporary visas available for road hauliers – including those that work within aviation and airport sites – in response to the problematic labour shortage of HGV drivers. The issue with this latter challenge is that such extensive levels of clearance are required for HGV driver roles that many who might be willing to consider it for their next job are put off by red tape.
But as more countries around the world reopen to us – such as the USA lifting its travel ban to allow double vaccinated passengers from the UK and EU to holiday there – international travel will continue to boom. But it’ll require significantly more resources than is currently available today.
Aviation has been Morson’s bread and butter for more than 50 years, with aviation candidate screening in place for over a decade. As our screening capabilities have accelerated over the years, so too has our ability to support the aviation industry with the complexities it experiences when it comes to recruitment.
We’ve dedicated an entire specialist team to aviation screening, who constantly reassess DFT guidance and are in regular communication with the CAA to ensure our screening and hiring pathways are audited and in line with regulation. This commitment to the sector, as well as our ongoing investment into industry practices and technology, has seen us able to develop a screening programme which can provide full clearance of a candidate within just four weeks – compared to the industry standard of 16 weeks.
As well as offering assessment centre support at all the key airports across the UK, we also offer comprehensive account management platforms to provide tangible, real-time data on a client’s recruitment project to support their hiring needs. We know aviation firms generally work in sprints, with scrum teams often spanning no longer than a small number of weeks; our reporting capabilities offer clarity on whether every assessment centre vacancy will be filled, how many individuals pass their assessment, and therefore how many are fully trained and prepared to start a role at the next available opportunity. However, not every solution is the same for every client, so we work in partnership with our aviation customers to develop bespoke systems depending on what their objectives are, where they are in the UK, and what their hiring requirements will be for the short and long term.
While the industry finds its feet once more, there’ll be a mass influx of people who’ve worked in the industry before looking for jobs, but most will need to be rescreened. For example, with double vaccination now being mandatory to work for several international airlines, we’ll be introducing Covid screening to our system to ensure as many keen candidates as possible can be fast-tracked into roles that will get the sector back to its prime, as soon as possible. Because everyone needs a holiday once in a while.
Find out more about our screening solutions here or email Morson Head of Screening, Jo Swarbrick at Jo.Swarbrick@morson.com for more information.
by Rebekah Lee | Oct 15, 2021 | Morson news, Talent Solutions
We are delighted to announce that today the Morson Group acquires Cornwallis Elt. The acquisition of the London-based recruiter will enable us to focus on scaling our service offering and enhance our footprint within the capital’s thriving professional services and technology markets.
Cornwallis Elt specialises in providing personalised recruitment solutions to financial services, digital & media, and legal sectors by matching its clients with in-demand candidates who possess skillsets spanning technology, change management, business transformation, and digital.
The City of London firm’s team, led by MD Andy Johns, COO Russell McIntyre, and sales director Craig Album, boasts an enviable client portfolio comprising international investment banks, fund managers, and boutique insurance firms, together with global leaders in technology.
The deal, which follows a strong year of trading for both businesses, will further strengthen the Morson Group’s position as one of the largest and most influential talent solutions specialists.
Andy Johns, MD of Cornwallis Elt, said:
“The chemistry, cultural fit and shared philosophy is visible across both businesses, which was hugely important for us.
“The Morson Group will provide our team with the perfect platform to support further growth whilst respecting the heritage of our brand and the reputation that we have worked so hard to build.”
Russell McIntyre, COO of Cornwallis Elt, added:
“Forming part of the Morson Group will provide our clients, candidates and people with unique access to a comprehensive suite of trailblazing recruitment products and services to further enhance our capabilities in delivering quality, knowledge-led hiring.
“They are the right company to help fuel our future growth and enable us to provide exciting new opportunities for our people. The Morson Group’s strategy is underpinned by performance, integrity and a clear vision to put people at the heart of what they do, which are values that very much mirror our own at Cornwallis.”
Ged Mason OBE, CEO of Morson Group, said:
“We have a clear strategy to expand our footprint in the professional services and technology sectors. The acquisition of Leeds-based tech recruiter, The Bridge IT, in 2017 was a significant step on the road to becoming one of the UK’s leading providers of STEM disciplines. Bringing Cornwallis into the Group enables us to take advantage of tremendous growth opportunities in London, whilst further diversifying the Group with its complementary offer and a respected team.
“The months ahead will remain business as usual, as our leadership teams work together to add value to one another’s operations and deliver a successful integration. We’re seeing unprecedented demand for talent across every sector as businesses focus on rebuilding their operations, and our priority is to support this surge in outsourced recruitment as organisations search for the right talent partner to deliver their strategic ambitions.
“This acquisition marks another major milestone in the Morson Group’s 50+ year heritage and we’re delighted to welcome Cornwallis’ team, clients and candidates into the Morson family as we work collectively as one to always place people first.”
We look forward to welcoming our Cornwallis colleagues, clients, and contractors to our ever-growing Group. Find out more about our diverse range of brands here.
by Rebekah Lee | Sep 27, 2021 | Morson news, MSP, Talent Solutions
Following on from last year’s double shortlisting, the Morson Group managed service solution took home the award for Outstanding Outsourced Recruitment Organisation in the 2021 Recruiter Awards.
The Recruiter Awards is the UK’s largest event for the entire recruitment community. It recognises outstanding achievements by agencies and in-house recruiters.
In choosing the shortlist for Outstanding Outsourced Recruitment Organisation, the judges look to businesses who have achieved outstanding success for their clients when conceiving, developing, and implementing recruitment management strategies, as well as demonstrating financial stability, profitability and business innovation. Notice was also given to how the recruiter enhanced the client’s employer brand and the added-value partnerships.
Our submission highlighted a relationship with our client, Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM), during the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown in 2020. Read the full case study here
Our managed service with Sir Robert McAlpine enabled us to have visibility of their entire contractor population, meaning we could engage with them efficiently about the overnight impact of the UK lockdown. We played an unequivocally vital role in the communications and processes that were put in place to close sites with almost immediate effect. Within 48 hours of the lockdown announcement, every contractor had been informed of their updated policy and had exited the site, which we made clear was for their own protection and in compliance with the law.
Over the year, as restrictions ebbed and flowed, we worked synonymously with SRM to remobilise its teams to site and used our in-house reporting technology to inform the client of its contractor spend on a weekly basis, broken down by region, to enable it to manage costs for the wider business in a delicate financial climate. Having Morson available for 24/7 support also freed up valuable resource amongst senior managers who faced pressure in other areas of the business.
David Lynchehaun, Group Sales Director, said
“The landscape is changing rapidly in today’s market, with clients more than ever looking for advice towards business excellence and added value. With this in mind, we’re absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award, and it’s especially pleasing news for our members of staff who work exceptionally hard to provide the depth and quality of service which goes beyond transactional recruitment.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank both our clients and our employees for making this award possible.”
If you would like to find out more about our MSP solution and how we can help your organisation cost save, continuously improve, and transform through talent, get in touch with Morson MSP director, David Lynchehaun at david.lynchehaun@morson.com. Or, read more about managed service solutions here
