STAFF from the Portakabin Group in York and East Yorkshire swapped their office environment for wild moorland and combat.

Six members of staff from the group joined other organisations from across the region for a demanding three-day course held at Catterick Military Training Area.

Designed to teach leadership and teamwork skills, the event involved working on a variety of challenging tasks, ranging from launching a search and rescue mission for an RAF downed pilot, recovering a vehicle, evacuating a casualty and learning to cook in the field.

The exercise, called ‘Executive Stretch’, was run by civilians who serve as Reservists in the Navy, Marines, Army or RAF across Yorkshire and The Humber.

The course, organised by reserve unit the Queen’s Own Yeomanry, was designed to provide a unique opportunity for employees to enhance their personal leadership, teamwork and communication skills, as well as gain a valuable insight into the transferable skills that Reservists develop during similar training exercises.

David Offen, production engineer at Portakabin, said it had been an incredible experience. "The environment and challenges you are thrown into are extraordinary, and you learn so much – about yourself, as much as the leadership and teamwork skills."

Robert Snook, director and general manager, said: “Portakabin has supported this training exercise for a number of years and have found it really improves self-confidence and expands capabilities, especially the capacity for leadership, communication and teamwork.

"We have been very impressed with the training that is available through the Reserve Forces and as an employer, we really value the skills it provides us with.”