RAF’s Professional Engineering Flight Plan

Guest: Squadron Leader David Littlemore, Executive Officer, Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, Infrastructure, RAF
Interviewed by: Antony Oliver

In this episode of the podcast we are explore the way the UK Armed Services has been radically upping its game in terms of the support, promotion and development of professional engineering careers.

To do this, I'm joined today by Squadron Leader David Littlemore from the Royal Air Force, currently executive officer infrastructure at Cyber and Specialist Operations Command.

David is also fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in fact, the only chartered civil engineer in the RAF, and I'd say that he is also a passionate advocate for merging the best of military and civilian engineering training to create complete and capable professional engineers fit for the future.

David’s engineering career journey was unorthodox. He started straight from school, aged 16, working in a bridge design office, where he progressed through ONC and then HNC studies before gaining a degree in Civil Engineering at Durham University. He then switched to the military by being commissioning into the Royal Air Force in 2008.

Since then his career has bridged the gap between civilian consultancy and high-stakes military infrastructure, tackling work across the UK and from the South Atlantic to the Middle East.

And today, as a Chartered Civil Engineer, he is certainly testament to the "long winding road" of modern professional engineering careers.

Beyond his technical expertise in project management and infrastructure delivery, he mentors young technicians and engineers and is committed to helping the next generation understand the profound value of professional recognition, and what it takes to build a career.