Wakey Wakey manning
 

Whilst the DT have grabbed the 'still not enough army reserves' headline from today's DASA manpower figures (all on the web) it makes for some interesting analysis of the light blue as well (long train journey today).

In summary the RAF reached its manpower target of reducing to 33000 from 40500 in Jun. Noting that's a reduction of circa 7500 not the often media reported 5000 figure. Therefore we should now be seeing intake roughly equaling outflow, but it's not. By example the RN are in the same boat (pardon the pun) but they appear to have mastered the 'numbers in should equal numbers out' complex maths.

It seems (yet again) the RAF are turning the recruitment tap on too late and too slowly.

With NEM, pensions, Contingency and a growing economy I don't see retention getting better to solve this and that's reflected in PVR figures being the highest for at least 5 years. So a sizeable recruitment drive is needed PDQ.

So open to the floor. Does manning know what they are doing and is there a plan?

Don't forget the lack of techie pay for technical trades and loyalty is a two way thing.

I don't know if you seen this before but the stats in this article make interesting reading http://www.bainessimmons.com/tlp/air...ummer-2013.pdf

Techie Pay!
 

When I joined up in 80, TG1&2 were paid more. I had no problem with this as it was a personal choice.

Since then times have changed, drastically. Various trades have been judged(rightly or wrongly) to be worthy of a pay increase. There is no such thing as techie pay, but those individuals in TG1&2 have not had their pay reduced.

Why, IMHO, is it that Techies will only be happy when they get paid more than anyone else irrespective of their salary? The highest scoring Trade in the JSJET system was the dental hygienist. There are other TGs who also deserve more but that is purely subjective.

http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/files/2009/12...-of-****-1.jpg


:E

All aboard the "Techie Pay" argument bus...

It's not just recruitment but retention - to control the flow you need to control both ends of the pipe.

I see very little/nothing to counter the multitude of push factors that have amassed over recent years. Whatever happens, it needs to be significant.

You can recruit more to balance the numbers sheet, but keeping sufficient SQEP personnel is a wholly different issue.

Nutty
How true:D

That's a problem caused by the way it's managed. 2-year post holders firefighting and hoping a wheel doesn't come off during their watch, while the financiers look at people like buses they can buy and sell with demand. People, experience and loyalty are intangible on a balance sheet until shooting starts probably many miles away.

Whatever the arguments....pay shows the "OFFICIAL" view of your worth!:uhoh:

OAP

Over on The Student Room you see no shortage of people applying and wanting in... but all complaining of huge delays caused by Capita.

Now that Capita.....
 

.....seems to be bigger than the RAF; is there anything that Capita gets right?

There seem to be lots of reports in the press about their shortcomings in all sorts of areas other than the RAF.

The military seem to have outsourced all the things that "we" used to do when I was a lad and yet things don't seem to get better.

Olympics and G4S

Big IT companies who never seem to deliver yet keep being contracted in spite of their previous failures.

Where has any benefit to the services been gained? Sure as shot I can't see it.

The Ancient Mariner

Reserves and Regular targets for RAF recruitment will be met this year or thereabouts. Only a few pinch point trades causing issues like ICT, and most techy jobs have all been filled.

I wasn't aware Capita were leading the way.

Regardless, every month the light blue are shrinking by circa 125 people even though they have reached the mandated manning level early. Whilst 125 may not seem like a lot the organisation is a lot smaller now and these numbers matter. Unless staunched it will be increasingly problematic internally and not aid the RAFs cause come the next SDSR ie you obviously don't need the people.

A lot more intake appears to be required.

Selatar,

(1) Never did. (2) No.

Nutloose,

Splendid !

D.

I guess the NEM policy of offering extensions till age 60 for aircrew - PAS Flt Lt and above could be seen as a retention method.

Interesting where the truth lies though regarding manning. Are we actually in balance with everything wonderful or is the reality somewhat different?

Then again, it will all change under SDSR 15!

From the Retention Thread dated 7th August 2013
 

Don't think so. I think it is Manning that are missing something obvious, and I don't think the problem of retention will only be restricted to Pilots. I say that as someone who is seeing a lot of the youngsters (particularly GD/WSO and WSOps) I used to fly with PVR'ing at what I assume for 'the system' is an alarming rate; if I was very cynical of course, perhaps you could argue that this was always part of the Master Plan to get the RAF numbers down below whatever the latest 'target' is ASAP.

I believe what started as a trickle is now turning into a serious flood. No doubt there is lots of hand-wringing going on among various members of the Air Force Board who are seeing the situation slip beyond their control at an alarming rate. All I can say to that is "You reap what you sow you completely clueless dickheads".

Standing by for the RAF to disappear up it's own arsehole!

The 'Elephant' in the woodpile is of course that a newly qualified person ≠someone who's been in the job a decade+. Oh, they might be more of a gym queen and use the requisite number of sirs per sentence, but I'd rather have a cynical, fat, wheezy, '20-a-day' expert on my team than an unimaginative drone with shiny shoes, who's absent every Wednesday afternoon, and who spouts management b-s at every juncture.

Wouldn't give a s h one t but for the fact it's now my tax £ contributing to the god almighty, and ongoing, ****-up.

Little sympathy for those that stay in: plenty of opportunity in the real world.

Get the Hell out of Dodge people!

Geardown,

My interpretation is based on the figures ie fact rather than an insight into intent and I am therefore delighted manning are hitting their targets. I merely note that the RN have stopped at the level they were directed under SDSR whilst the light blue are continuing to reduce past that number. Given that manning are all over this I presume the RAF is to shrink beyond what is currently in the public domain.

I'm telling it as it is on the shop floor... many TG1 have PVR'd because they will get paid better and put up with less s*** elsewhere. I know many who walked straight into jobs in Aberdeen and don't know of any TG1 who PVR'd and was worse off.

If the RAF matched the pay that these guys can easily get working offshore, then you would drastically reduce the PVR rate.

What nobody has mentioned yet, is the problem is worse than the manning numbers suggest. As theses numbers do not take into account experience, qualifications, operational readiness, effectiveness, etc. The numbers are just bums on seats and not "guys who know what they are doing" versus "kid straight out of school".