Originally Posted by
Sky Sports
I think the biggest problem the RAF currently has - or will have - when it comes to manpower, is the current halt on recruitment. Before the whole lockdown started, the RAF was down 6% on manning. Add to that the approximately 48 people who leave every week, which is 350 people and counting. The manpower shortage will only get worse.
I appreciate that courses are still starting, but all applications to join are hold, meaning there will be a massive backlog to get through when recruiting resumes. This may have an impact on future basic courses/IOT, with courses have zero candidates loaded.
Actually, IOT has been effectively shut to new entrants since the start of 2020 and won’t start until Sep 20. That is
nothing to do with CV19 and was totally planned - for something called Project MERCURY which is redesign of IOT to make it a modular course. That way we can tune modules for peoples’ previous experience - so a Cpl/Sgt may only need to do the 2nd and 3rd terms of IOT, as an example and a FS and WO only the final term. So actually all of the IOTs were front loaded and so CV19 has, believe it or not, had pretty much zero effect on IOT. The virus has seen short pauses in flying training and current estimates are around 3 months slip across the lot. In the grand scheme of things, not a big effect - so the FJ pipeline will still be around 5(ish) years, the helo pipeline around 4 years and the multi-engine pipeline closer to 3 years. So about 1-1.5 years longer than planned for those at the beginning of training. Sadly, for those just finishing on the FJ pipeline right now they are still the ‘6 year generation’ from the knock on effects of the SDSR10 cull and the early challenges during the fleet changeovers under UKMFTS. But CV19? Not really an impact at all from what I’ve heard.
