I think we managed lockdown better than they did, on the whole.
Much as folk here moan about HQAC and RHQs they have kept things ticking over.
1 Like
How so? To me it seems the CFAVs kept things ticking over.
9 Likes
This this and more of this. I’ll happily admit I’m not one of those that’s kept it ticking over as I didn’t get very involved in remote learning. But from what I’ve seen its been squadron staff that have kept things going, often at times with little help from above.
5 Likes
Indeed.
Very little from Wings, regions and HQAC.
Very little indeed.
It was grass root Sqn level which provided the absolute vast majority of VPNs.
2 Likes
Strongly disagree. Heard nothing from either except blockers, my WHQ (including the perm staff) basically closed for 9 months.
2 Likes
Yup. What I will give credit too is some of the WSOs in my wing. Some went above and beyond to organise events for the whole wing which was really great. But still, that was CFAVs doing the legwork.
Some also disappeared entirely. 
Also, thread drift… 
Largely yes - but scouts has been worse. At least, in my area.
Sorry
We have lost the local beaver, cub and scout troops in our town. Another town who has lost volunteers are desperate for staff or they will also have to close.
A 70,000 WAITING LIST… can you imagine if we had that… or even a waiting list of 10,000…
And whats this about 66 new actual jobs via a Govt programme… 
We need BIG thinking on this scale.
2 Likes
Hmmm… KickStart isn’t really all that. On paper it looks good, in practice it depends heavily on the employer!
It’s also not 66 permanent jobs. It’ll be 66 paid work placements of up 25 hours per week for a fixed term of 6 months. And the money to pay them is coming from government coffers, NOT Scouting association. Any training requirements are also coming from HMG money.
Some of the jobs are genuinely new roles - things that companies weren’t doing before, but this scheme will allow them to seed fund. Others are backfilling posts which have been empty for a while which they couldn’t fill because of X/Y/Z reasons. Some companies are just doing it to increase their capacity to do something. It very much depends on the organisation employing.
The caliber of candidate being put forward via this scheme is a real mixed back. Some are amazing graduates with stacks of potential who live in a place where their skills aren’t necessarily needed. And there are some that are a long, long way from there.
There are KickStart placements across HMG - but I’ve not seen any from the MOD; let alone HQAC. I would anticipate that anybody taken on via it would need a 6 month project, and close supervision and management. So it’s whether anybody at HQAC has the capacity to take somebody on, then mentor them for six months and have some meaningful output at the end of it.
The Scouts have always had a big waiting list. It’s one of the reasons why we never had a problem with holding potential cadets off to join one or two (sometimes three) intakes per year - They and their parents are so often so used to being on a waiting list for youth groups that they expect when when they enquire.
A few years ago I recall a plea on ITV news for more volunteers to help support the 51,000 waiting list they had at the time. They appear to have considerably well to recruit so many more to the list.
It makes one wonder why we don’t have a massive waiting list.
*I recall that news segment well because - by a comic twist of fate - immediately following that plea they cut to the local news stations, where our first headline was the jailing of a man who had abused young boys whilst he was a Scout master.
One should never laugh about something as serious as that, but the unfortunately comic timing was not lost on me.
Some sqns do. I think it’s to do with visibility & general public knowledge, and the fact that we don’t have sqns in (nearly) every town, unlike the Scouts.
Certainly, it would be interesting to know how many are waiting and why; and for how long.
I suspect that most would be ‘held awaiting an intake’ but there will certainly be some Sqns who have a waiting list because they physically can’t take any more cadets through the door.
2 Likes
A lot of the Scouts’ waiting list is the youngest group, Beavers, 6-8 years. Parents literally put their kids down at birth in some areas and it can be a nightmare to manage.
At the Scout and Explorer age (11-14 and 14-18 approx) it is rare to be on a waiting list.
this is the case in my experience.
I have been on several units and all use ~3 intakes a year. if someone enquires weeks after an intake they go on the “waiting list”
As our training has obvious stages and milestone (Heartstart in the first 6 months, first class after 3-4 months etc) to hit the new “batch” of recruits is easier to manage than the limited development and progression through the stages as a Scout
I’ve been at capacity before, it’s part of the reason I went to one intake a year. (We would then be running a waiting list if 15-20 by the next October just of walk ins). I’ve known other Squadrons with 50+ on the waiting list and no other local units to give them to.
CFAV Recruitment?
What about it?
Sorry was that a question?
Nope its pass it to the volunteers who will do it for nothing, then they process for nothing, then train for nothing. Meantime in the paid uniform staff world they will write you an email to say you are suspended when you haven,t done it. Sorry I am in a cynical mood but recovery is a marathon not a sprint. Until we are allowed more than 15 cadets indoors then we aren’t ready for newbies. Hopefully the organisation takes the spirit of the boss in that recruit if you need to bug no worries if you cant.