25 June 2025
At FirstPort, we recognise the incredible value veterans bring to civilian roles. Meet Sean, one of our Later Living Development Managers, who shares how his experience in the army helped him thrive in a completely new career. From leadership and problem-solving to a strong sense of community, Sean found that many of the skills he developed in the military are directly transferable to his role in property management.
Transcript:
“When I left the military, I fell into security. As I was getting older, the job got more difficult for me, physically. And it was very full-time time 24/7, 365 days a year. A friend of mine, his partner, she worked for FirstPort as a Development Manager, and they recommended it to me. I looked into the company, and then I applied. One of the things that I miss from the military is camaraderie. That’s why I fell into security. After I came out, going into this role, I still have that. Although I work alone most of the time, I do have a team. We work together, we do meet regularly every week via Teams, and then every couple of months we have a face-to-face meeting where we all get together. On top of that, we’ve got the residents, you know, as a live-in manager, I’m able to do my job. They understand the professional side of it. But then, when they’re using the lounge, having a cup of tea, you know, one of their many clubs that they run in there, I’m always welcome to join them if I have the time, which is always nice and lovely. The role for me is very similar to a lot of the work I did in the military. I worked in the stores a lot. A lot of my duties involve the accommodation, where I was dealing with the fire compliance, water compliance, water health and safety. Being taught how to hold myself accountable for my work has come in massively for me. One of the first things I did when I got here, and I learnt the duties that I had to do was plan them out on my calendar. We had to think for ourselves, so I do that here.”
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