I’m leaving RAFAC this year (going out of age, CCF) and honestly this year looks miserable. My CCF hasn’t sent anyone to JL or QAIC in forever anyway, so the staples are ACLC and IACE, which I’ve both managed to do. One of those is gone altogether for this year, and the other doesn’t sound promising last I heard.
What’s far more worriesome is the future of these events. I know someone else raised it but I’d imagine it to be costly and inefficient to restart all these courses, especially when the skills and experience of running them is lost for a year.
I still can’t access the sharepoint (because I can’t change my Password because my OC… doesn’t have the needed permissions apparently and at this point I may as well not…) so I assume that there’s been no publicly available “roadmap” towards starting/restarting all the courses that have been cancelled for this year?
My concern as well. Saying things are paused ‘for a year’ is all very well and good, but until I see a date written in stone, I won’t hold much hope of ever seeing them again.
There’s nothing published, certainly. I’m speaking to some of my CCF(RAF) colleagues in the same region as me shortly, with a view to seeing how we are all coping with the situation with support for our own events at section/Contingent level (i.e. there is very limited T&S/VA) and what we are doing to adapt. I’m hoping it will enable me to take the temperature and report back in a non-attributable way to the RC.
Although I can appreciate the “doom and gloom” outlook especially from a cadet point of view as a 1 year pause on a lot of courses and camps etc is a lot especially when the max you can be in the corps as a cadet is 8 years if you are lucky. I think it is needed as the organisation as a whole as we have lost a bit of identity in the sense we offer too much of a broad range of courses and camps where what defines us as Air cadets is difficult and when AEF slots are like gold dust it is worrying.
The core activities get diluted a bit when you can dip into the below
Flying and gliding
Space technology
Cyber
Sports
Fieldcraft
Music
Shooting
First Aid
Drill and Ceremonial
Road Marching
D of E
Adventure training
Junior Leaders/Leadership
IACE
QAIC
Wing Camps
Regional Camps
With the average child getting about 13 weeks holiday a year take 2 off for Christmas as naturally the organisation winds down then you are left with 11 weeks. With the core based activities, if you threw yourself at everything last year it would have been physically impossible to have enough school holidays. If you take an example of a Cadet that plays an instrument and was into adventure training, I have known these cadets have 4 weeks worth of camps in a year each linked to something.
As an organisation the powers that be need to decide do we have this niche approach of spreading ourselves as thinly as possible. By the time this summer is done, I would have done 2 annual camps as an officer in 2 years, for me that’s 2 weeks paid annual leave (couldn’t have committed myself if I wasn’t paid) but luckily I get 2 volunteering days each year from work to reduce the time off taken down to 3 but then any midweek AEF commitments come straight out of my holiday allowance.
The other option is to offer either on Regional basis more allocation but more options or Corps basis less offerings. Staffing wise especially during the summer holidays with camps I think we could manage Regional camps easier that way, presently staff are needed for a full week. If for example shooting was part of a camp but only on 2 days, the shooting SMEs would only be needed for those 2 days etc and it could be balanced appropriately as long as you have the ratios, it could easily work in a way similar to RIAT where you have Flight commanders who are for a better phrase “training officers” for that week who stick with their 10 cadets, the SME’s deliver the training and disappear once rotation has happened.
I would also like to see if we could explore the opportunity for more VGS usage during camps. A camp to a VGS location on first impressions doesn’t sound like a great idea however with permissions an Air rifle range could potentially be installed, most are in rural locations which could give chance to a base for Fieldcraft or classroom/ “outdoor classrooms” opportunities at some to cover off the Cyber and Space studies. Across 3-5 days you could have a couple of gliding slots, some shooting, a Cyber badge, First aid badge and have done one of the progressive syllabus in Leadership. Apart from shooting you only need a classroom space. Multi-Activities with rewards (badges) with a gliding opportunity/potential for multiple launches, the cost is lowered but potential reward is high. Yes it would potentially mean tented accommodation depending on location but we can’t all stay in the Hilton like the Aircrew!
but how different is that list from what the RAF offer?
If we are seen as offering a “RAF experience” all of that list (and likely more) is valid.
Remembering the aims of the Corps To promote and encourage among young men and women a practical interest in the Royal Air Force
and To foster a spirit of adventure
With these in mind, all of the above are relevant.
We (as an organisation) offer a diluted, teenage friendly taster of the RAF life. Some of our 900+ Squadrons specialise, much like the RAF do, and become SME/experts in shooting, AT/sports, fieldcraft, STEM, D&C, music, communications, first aid etc while other offer a more “jack of all trades” approach.
While what the organisation offers made be broad, I do not think it loses its identity when you compare and contrast what the opportunities there are in the RAFAC versus our parent service.
This isn’t too say there shouldn’t be more aviation focus, but to take a line from a recruitment campaign, you don’t have to be a pilot to fly in the RAF.
I think a problem we face is that the classroom ‘air’ stuff worked well when it fitted into a a wider syllabus that included hands on air stuff - you’d fly, you’d glide,you go to a flying station for camp.
But now, when you’ll spend 4 years a classroom and perhaps fly once or twice, and camp at one flying station?
For me, as a cadet, and then staff, the huge variety of what the ACO did was what attracted me over the ACF - and while I’ll not pretend that the air academic stuff was the driving seat of my passion - I could see that it fitted in with, and supported the other stuff.
But now?
It looks a bit like an extra-curricular maths club - and if you want to know what the once within our grasp aim of 50,000 cadets looks like fantasy land stuff…
The RAF’s tagline of ‘a bit of everything’ works because everyone can see that the bit that they do supports and contributes to the end product - but in the ACO, what is the end product that the classroom stuff? A BTEC?
We face, imv, an existential crisis because we no longer provide an experience that is much different to the ACF or the Scouts - just without the competence or depth of the ACF, or the variety of the Scouts - and the real threat is that we are ignoring it because it’s difficult.
That’s the thing for me, we are trying to match every possible scenario with possibilities of a career in the RAF when the ACP’s specifically advise we aren’t a recruitment tool for the RAF. Rather than concentrating on smaller bits that we can deliver well we are trying to overspend on small camps to benefit not as many people.
When you look at what would be valuable in the forces or civvy street, straight away you look at D of E as the “recognisable award scheme” next Leadership, communication and presentation skills are great part of our offering as is First Aid but personally rather than just having badges/lanyard why don’t we invest in qualifications for Leadership/Presentation skills, which will actually be useful. If I went for my 1st job interview and advised them about my Air Cadets leadership badge or MOI it might sounds impressive with some context but doesn’t mean anything to the normal employer but if I went I obtained x qualification it starts to look an impressive portfolio. I am hoping they haven’t forgotten the Sports Leaders Award idea that was being drafted the back end of last year as I think that could be a nice and easy win.
The stats might have changed some what but in 2005, Parliament produced and article advising 41% of officers were ex Air cadets and only 17% of airmen/airwomen were ex Air cadets also. I was a cadet back then and didn’t join the forces however enjoyed a successful career in civvy street and paid more than counterparts in the forces would be too,
We do need to reshape our offering and work out what we are. Do things for a purpose and not just because would be a good start
My own view is that the only real future is for a single, ‘Purple’ MOD-sponsored cadet service that offers a ‘Scouts+’ syllabus - AT, life skills, and whatever experiences we can scav off the MOD at the time - but until we get there…
I think we really lost our way when we started to change our syllabus to appeal to pushy, MC parents and the schools they go to and not the 13yo kids we exist for.
An interesting example of how far the ACO has travelled up it’s own backside is that we teach kids Air Power doctrine, but not how to use hand signals to talk to helicopters.
I could find 500 cadets in my wing who could tell me how a radar works, but if I could find 50 who can signal ‘i need help’ to a police, coastguard or military helicopter crew…
Venture Adventure… So long as it’s in an academic setting.
I’m inclined to agree. I originally joined for the outdoorsy, more rugged activities including survival skills. It was like Scouts but with some testosterone. I now can’t remember the last time I saw such activities being delivered.
If we are realistic how many people have used the BTEC in aviation studies or potentially space as the new one is proposal for their first step on the jobs market? Possibly as a tool for a few extra UCAS points maybe but not worth much else. An actual qualification regarding Leadership/teaching/presentation skills similar to the BTEC Level 3 Award in Education and Training is an achievement that makes you stand out although if it at that level you would need to be aged 19, numbers would be limited but potential to retain cadets over into staff by offering a training pathway.
Its all about investment and reward agreed we can offer an “RAF experience” however its how realistic is that “RAF experience” we are more of a limited Flying & Gliding club with links to the RAF at the moment. Ultimately the RAF are there to carry out orders in support of the defence or the aggressor which could include lethal force, that is the realism about it, our offering is always going to be diluted its just about how wishy washy we want to make it.
Under the old system, as cadets could only achieve a pass grade schools recommended leaving it off UCAS etc, as they were it could dilute their grade averages.
if we can’t get a “mickey mouse” BTEC to work, having failings in the assessment stage for a qualification which is not worth a great deal it doesn’t pose well for something more serious.
the phrase “don’t run before you can walk” comes to mind, BTEC shows we can’t walk on the most basic of nationally recognised qualifications
before you were asking for concentration on the core activities to maintain our identity - now you are suggesting we become a college, with cadets leaving with qualifications.
Our identity is a aviation themed, RAF Sponsored youth group - not a “hobby college”
That’s an untruth/misunderstanding. the BTEC Aviation Studies was only ever a Level 2 qualification. Not eligible for UCAS points. Whilst it was only available as a “Pass”, very few uni’s do “grade averages”.
Some students are advised to leave it off Uni applications as it may not be relevant. Others are actively encouraged to add it on as it shows - even at a L2 pass - a greater breadth of qualifications and understanding and may well be more relevant to the course/qualifications they are going on to study in the future.
And some schools simply don’t understand - or value - BTECs anyway!
As for how many have used it - many of our cadets (and staff!) did! For a few of our cadets they found the Cadet environment far more conducive to learning than school - some leaving school without achieving any Level 2 qualifications at all. The BTEC in Aviation Studies lifted this - giving them a Full Level 2 qualification. For some in proved an excellent stepping stone for the labour force, others it was the step up they needed to be able to access a Level 2 (or Level 3) course at College.
A few of ours also undertook the BTEC Public Services (as was) and this added an additional qualification to their CV - as well as helping them develop their skills, knowledge and experiences - and formalising and accrediting many of the activities they were already completing as part of their cadet service. Again, added value to the organisation and the cadet.