Royal Navy Visit to Share Stories of a Life on the Seas

Leading Hand Mohamed Khan and Craven College Alumnus Able Rate Joseph Sugden visited College to speak to all our Uniformed Public Services (UPS) students about a career in the Royal Navy. As we celebrate our 200th anniversary in 2025, it’s great to be able to welcome past students back to tell us how Craven College helped to shape their experiences!

Established in 1546 by Henry VIII, the Roya Navy is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and a component of His Majesty’s Naval Service and currently employs over 37,500 people in the UK.

Leading Hand Khan spoke about his rise through the ranks and how a chance encounter with a careers office changed his life! Now a chef, with deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Falklands amongst others, his career has seen him cooking on ships including the Ark Royal, and for such illustrious persons as the President of Türkiye and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Students were fascinated to find out she ate a meal of roast pheasant and lemon tart!

In his career, Mohamed has visited over 45 countries in 24 years, he said, “Travelling the world really made my mind up to stay in the Royal Navy. I was undecided whether I wanted it was what I wanted to do, however in my first 8 weeks I visited 8 countries – all for free – and I thought, “yes, this is what I want to do”.”

Students then heard from Craven College past student Able Rate Joseph Sugden about his experiences. Able Rate Sugden studied Public Services at Craven College starting in 2014, before then continuing his studies with us through a Plastering Apprenticeship.

In his seven-year career, Able Rate Sugden has never spent a day at sea, making it – as he said – the perfect career for those who suffer from seasickness! His role is completely land-based, and he works with helicopters. Even being land-based, he has had the opportunity to travel to France, Denmark, Spain, and Norway amongst others. The highlight of Joseph’s career being his participation in Rugby League within the Navy, which has given him the opportunity to play some top teams, in the top level of competitions whilst getting the chance to appear both on television and at some amazing stadiums!

When he leaves the Royal Navy, Joseph will have an Aeronautical Engineering Level 2 and Level 3 qualification – in fact all 128 jobs within the Navy give a civilian-level recognised qualification, giving the opportunity to pursue careers outside of the armed forces.

He said, “I really enjoyed my time at Craven College, although there were no recruitment events for the Navy, in fact I was rejected first time! I returned to College to do my apprenticeship and then tried again, being accepted to the Navy when I was 21. For me, this was the perfect timing, as I had got my holidays and fun out of the way and was ready to knuckle down.”

Students were given a guide as to the entry process into the Royal Navy, hearing of benefits they had not heard of such as competitive starting salary, medical and dental cover, help to buy houses and university fees covered.

Students then split into two groups, to do activities. With one of the main focuses of the Royal Navy currently humanitarian aid, they were set into a scenario of a hurricane in the Caribbean and asked to use one of the humanitarian kits to create a freestanding 2m telecommunications tower, and a wind turbine with 3 blades and moving parts. The groups worked together well, and a variety of different results were produced!

Dr James Simpkin, Lecturer in Public Services said, “Visits like today by former Craven College Public Service students now in the Royal Navy are so vital in inspiring current students to see where their hard effort and study can lead.”

A big thank you to Mohamad and Joseph for their time to give our students a taste of a career in the Royal Navy.

Find out more about Uniformed Public Services courses at Craven College and visit us on our upcoming Open Morning to speak to tutors, look around our campus and sign up for your next step!