First TG4 and TG5 - Wonga Dot Com!
 

I see that a FRI has been introduced for TG5 Gen Tech (Mech) personnel at SAC(T) rank for later this year. A requirement for a 3 year commitment to stay for £10k.

So when is the TG1 FRI coming? i thought they were hurting the most in the techie trades?

The B Word

10K for 3 years? So 3K/yr or so. What's that for an SAC(T), about 10-15%?

So the question is, can these guys earn that premium over their RAF salary outside the wire?

I don't know about the TG5 guys, but the TG4 CIS guys, almost certainly, particularly with Service experience.

Wait till after the election, more likely to be the opposite when they start cutting fleet sizes!

I was TG5 many moons ago and certainly made more outside the wire... albeit inside a foreign wire.
Theres certainly quite a few job recruitment posts on the TG5 facebook page and usually they offer pretty good money although I've no idea what an SAC(T) picks up these days.
It's also possible that BAe are actively recruiting for the overseas Typhoon programs in which case 10K over 3 years would probably be peanuts!

From what I understand, TG1 have easily recruited their manpower requirements for the next year. Lots of other TGs are however struggling, some well below 60% of the requirement.

As an aside, TG11 to be reintroduced!

It will soon be an all officer Air Force!

Don't bank on it, I've heard rumours there are plenty of officers looking to get out too.

Which in no way replaces experience that walks out the door as it is what, 2 years before these new recruits will be usefully productive....

Absolutely spot on - you cannot train experience and common sense - and whilst 2 years experience certainly helps - 10 years+ experience is even better,the trouble is many techs recognise the british disease of not valuing techs/engineers and find the only way to get a good salary rise is to escape from the shop floor and go somewhere where they are valued and given a good salary - which may be airlines/railways etc or outside aviation completely.

It is not just the RAF which has this problem - it is the same where I work but senior management seem to think that anybody can do the job if they can read a procedure...monkey read monkey do ; )

We have a huge skills gap between the few ageing and very experienced techs and the young guys at the start of their careers,others have gone elsewhere or gone up the slippery pole !

Perhaps I should reword my previous statement to: It will soon be an all senior officers Air Force!