College threw me a lifeline and led me to an exciting career in security and emergency planning

: Created: 12 January 2021

During the mid 1980s, south east Londoner Alan Cain left school with little to shout about regarding his exam grades. It was London South East Colleges, Orpington (formerly Orpington College) that threw him a lifeline and enabled him to fast-track his way into university just a year later. And from there, Alan’s career journey has taken him to heights he didn’t dare dream of reaching.

Today, Alan works as a Resilience Manager for the NHS in Greater Manchester, responsible for what the NHS call ‘Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response’ (EPRR). His job includes planning for a wide range of emergency scenarios including severe weather, flooding, gas explosions, power supply outages, terrorism and pandemics. He is, like so many in the NHS, currently involved in the response to COVID-19.

It is a job requiring a combination of knowledge and experience accumulated through his previous jobs as Head of Security and Emergency Planning at two separate universities in the north of England, as well as management and consultancy roles for RST, Group 4 and Securicor - one position having responsibility for the Local Guard Force at the US Embassy in London. To add to his impressive résumé, Alan has also provided high-level consultancy and training, including the delivery of training to security teams protecting oil fields in Saudi Arabia. He has also served as an Army Reservist (London Regiment) with tours of Iraq and Afghanistan to his name.

Loving his work, proud and grateful for his career journey so far, Alan is a big fan of lifelong learning and is currently applying the finishing touches to a part-time MA in Intelligence and Security Services at the University of Salford.

Alan says: “My career has taken me all over the world and I feel truly blessed to have got to where I am, particularly when I remember failing my exams at school. It almost stopped me in my tracks, but thanks to my dad for his advice ‘don’t let flunking school mean flunking the rest of your life’ and the wonderful tutors at the College I was given a second chance - an opportunity which I seized with both hands.

“What changed for me, was that unlike school I was at College by choice. There was a wider range of subjects available to study, meaning I could study things I was actually interested in. The tutors treated me as an adult rather than as a child, and instilled into me a proper work ethic. For the first time in my life I began to enjoy studying. All of a sudden I had vision and a purpose in life. In truth, I’ve never looked back.

“The following year I began studying for a BSc in Psychology at the University of Hull and after graduating I worked in a number of different starter jobs in London until I began working for AIG as part of a team specialising in preventing the Y2K Millennium Bug from affecting their IT systems. In 2001 I moved from IT Disaster Recovery into security and emergency planning and found a career that I love. Since then I have taken every opportunity offered me and strived to become the best I can.

“Being an emergency planner involves thinking outside of the box, trying to make provision for every single imaginable scenario and outcome. How does one plan affect another? In December 2020 the NHS were dealing with a second wave of COVID-19, seasonal influenza, a potential no-deal EU Exit and severe weather/flooding. How would COVID-19 affect a flood evacuation? How would a no-deal EU Exit affect the importation of COVID-19 vaccines?

“You also have to be an effective communicator and influencer, because the role involves providing strategic and tactical advice on emergency response to senior executives. It requires a high degree of honesty, the knack of telling very senior people hard truths if necessary.

“I love my work and I often quote the words of the American writer and comedian Mark Twain who said: ‘The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation.’ If you are lucky enough to find a job you really enjoy doing you will never have to work a day in your life. I’d also add that by finding what you are good at and enjoy, you are more likely to make a success of it.”

Alan has three pieces of advice for any aspiring young person or adult setting out in their careers:

“Firstly, education will set you free and give you a much better chance in life. Make sure you enjoy the academic journey as well as the destination.

Secondly, gain as much real life experience as you can get - don’t turn down any opportunities to add to your CV as most employers are looking for a combination of education and practical ‘lived’ experience.

Thirdly, try to network with others who either share your interests or work in the same industry. Becoming a member of a professional body (for example AAT, ACCA, BMA, CIOB, CIPD, IET, EPS, RCN, RICS, SyI, etc) will give you a good support base and help you establish yourself within your chosen industry.”

If you think you have what it takes to become a public services professional and would like to build a successful career in a variety of different sectors, we’d like to hear from you. We have a great range of further and higher education courses to get you started. Join us for one of our Virtual Open Events in February.

Would you like to start a career in the NHS? We are holding a virtual recruitment and information event on Wednesday 27 January between 4.30 and 5.30 pm. Click here to find out more and book your place.

Are you an alumni of London South East Colleges (formerly Bromley College, Bexley College, Greenwich Community College and Orpington College? If so, we would love to hear from you. Please click here to find out how you can join our Alumni Association.