Government scheme - airline apprenticeships.
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I have repeatedly stated on this and other forums that service personnel have an "End of Contract Date" as soon as they put a badge on their heads and that they should work towards it at all times by deciding what it is they want to do and get ready to do it.
Servicemen should be mandated to make "Escape Plans" from at least 5 years prior to exit.
Servicemen should be mandated to make "Escape Plans" from at least 5 years prior to exit.
S-D
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I think I am in a position to comment on the RAF Vs Civvy Engineering, I did 12 years as a Sootie/Rigger, and have been out just over a year now, having studied for my B1 & B2 EASA licences.
Sorry to say it, but the forces are YEARS behind when it comes to training their technical trades, having spent a year contracting, and now being on the brink of qualifying for the B1&2, I thought I was well prepared leaving the RAF with 12 years of experience behind me, it has been a STEEP learning curve if I am honest!
The real world is a totally different beast, there is no freindly JNCO to guide you through a new job a few times, you read the book & crack on, in the knowledge that YOU are the mech & the LAE responsible for getting this jet "S" , no handing it down shift after shift, you are the point of responsibility.
Having come from being an expert SAC tech, with years of knowledge & experience on one type, and a nice rank structure above to soften the impact, to basically bring promoted to a combined SQN LDR/ Flight sergeant is quite an eye opener!
I would say that the young apprentices are light years ahead in hand skills & technical knowledge than their forces peers, simply due to the fact that they get given much harder technical tasks & far greater responsibility than most CPLS & SNCOs.
Sorry to say it, but the forces are YEARS behind when it comes to training their technical trades, having spent a year contracting, and now being on the brink of qualifying for the B1&2, I thought I was well prepared leaving the RAF with 12 years of experience behind me, it has been a STEEP learning curve if I am honest!
The real world is a totally different beast, there is no freindly JNCO to guide you through a new job a few times, you read the book & crack on, in the knowledge that YOU are the mech & the LAE responsible for getting this jet "S" , no handing it down shift after shift, you are the point of responsibility.
Having come from being an expert SAC tech, with years of knowledge & experience on one type, and a nice rank structure above to soften the impact, to basically bring promoted to a combined SQN LDR/ Flight sergeant is quite an eye opener!
I would say that the young apprentices are light years ahead in hand skills & technical knowledge than their forces peers, simply due to the fact that they get given much harder technical tasks & far greater responsibility than most CPLS & SNCOs.
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Exactly what Rigga and I have been saying, the problem being that those that do not believe you are still in the Forces and simply do not know or realise, and those of us that have left and are working in the industry do. Hence why we are actively encouraging people to get started now, because no one in the Services are going to do it for you.
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Rigga, S-D,
Servicemen and women need to be generally more aware of life after the military even if its only running in the background, but the service is an unforgiving and demanding mistress. And rightly so.
You start planning your exit strategy too early and you're laying your cards on the table that you're not a chiseller and you will be administered a soft career kiss of death. Helmund too, is bound to get in the way and what if you want to do a mid course correction when you decide you don't like turning a spanner after all, after 10 years of doing it? Its a mindset thing too isn't it? I think back, and I couldn't see more than a week ahead when I joined up, let alone 20 years.
Any scheme that raises levels of awareness and makes for a softer landing transition has to be of benefit. And it might give some focus to all those barrack room lawyers!
Servicemen and women need to be generally more aware of life after the military even if its only running in the background, but the service is an unforgiving and demanding mistress. And rightly so.
You start planning your exit strategy too early and you're laying your cards on the table that you're not a chiseller and you will be administered a soft career kiss of death. Helmund too, is bound to get in the way and what if you want to do a mid course correction when you decide you don't like turning a spanner after all, after 10 years of doing it? Its a mindset thing too isn't it? I think back, and I couldn't see more than a week ahead when I joined up, let alone 20 years.
Any scheme that raises levels of awareness and makes for a softer landing transition has to be of benefit. And it might give some focus to all those barrack room lawyers!
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I would have said that by doing your licenses through self study shows a passion to increase ones skills and knowledge, not simply look at an escape route.
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Nutloose, you would like to think the service would see it like that, but a recent example of the stupidity of the forces is clarified in one of my old Sergeants story!
He has self studied all of his B1 modules, has recently just been signed on to Los 30, after completing 22 years without a hitch, with excellent assessments etc etc.
He has applied for air tanker in all the trawls, yet has been rejected every time, despite needing no modules, merely experience. On the flip side there are people who would never have had the drive or motivation to do their B1, yet have applied simply to get a "free" licence, and have been picked up!
Anyway, the fact is if you work hard & get the qualifications you need, you will do ok in the real world.
He has self studied all of his B1 modules, has recently just been signed on to Los 30, after completing 22 years without a hitch, with excellent assessments etc etc.
He has applied for air tanker in all the trawls, yet has been rejected every time, despite needing no modules, merely experience. On the flip side there are people who would never have had the drive or motivation to do their B1, yet have applied simply to get a "free" licence, and have been picked up!
Anyway, the fact is if you work hard & get the qualifications you need, you will do ok in the real world.
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Nothing suprises me, when I came out they advertised a 3 year accompanied position in the Carribean for a SNCO to work on the Piper they were using for hunting down Drug Smugglers, the only person in the RAF that had any experience was the guy serving out there, however a Chiefy on our section had onced helped a friend one weekend put the wings on a Piper Cherokee he had imported in a container, took about 6 hours, so he applied and put that down as his experience, he got the job due to being the only other qualified ( if you could call it that ) applicant... I wouldn't mind but they sent him to CSE to be trained on them and all he was allowed to do was AF BF and Turn rounds, any probs I think someone came out from Miami to fix it.. And when it needed maintenance they took it to Miami.
...probably explains why my application was turned down.
Mind you the initial interviewing officer (a bod from Gen Office) asked me why I'd applied for a role in Turkey(?) - I assumed he hadn't heard of Turks & Caicos.
I was also told it was "always someone from Lyneham" that got it.
Mind you the initial interviewing officer (a bod from Gen Office) asked me why I'd applied for a role in Turkey(?) - I assumed he hadn't heard of Turks & Caicos.
I was also told it was "always someone from Lyneham" that got it.
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About twenty years back I was talking to an SAC who wanted to get his civil engineering licences but was told by his education officer that the licences would lapse after two years and he would then have to re-take all the exams.
This was totally untrue and naturally the guy had decided not to go ahead with the licence exams.
This leads me to ask if this sort of half truth and misinformation is a sort of staff retention move on the part of he forces or did this guy just have a very poor education officer ?
This was totally untrue and naturally the guy had decided not to go ahead with the licence exams.
This leads me to ask if this sort of half truth and misinformation is a sort of staff retention move on the part of he forces or did this guy just have a very poor education officer ?
