Nicholas Harrington
SoldierOn!

Nicholas started his career in Executive Search tasked with finding potentially suitable employees to fill vacancies for his clients. He became increasingly concerned that headhunting focused on closing deals rather than ensuring people secured roles for reasons that genuinely enhanced their careers. As a result, he became an occupational counsellor focusing on helping individuals to find personal meaning to their roles, in turn allowing them to become happier and more productive.
In 2008, he left the commercial world to apply his expertise to helping medically downgraded service personnel to secure suitable civilian employment and set up the charity, Soldier On!
As interest in the charity’s career transition programmes increased from outside the military world, Nicholas decided to help anyone who is marginalised from mainstream employment and introduced archaeology and other heritage-based activities as a vehicle to allow people to become more self-aware, to gain clarity on their life goals and to acquire an experience from which they can present their value and capabilities.
Soldier On! partners with universities, schools, other charities, employers and government departments and delivers projects such as graveyard surveys, archaeology excavations and restoration projects to name a few.
Next year, Bradford University is hoping to partner with the charity to excavate the site of a C12th Priory.
Nicholas’ talk will offer insights into the good, the bad and the ugly of community archaeology aimed at supporting well-being and personal development, insights he hopes will be of use to students for whom this is a growing sector.