Problem is if you want people from the outside you will have to pay market value which is a damn site higher than the cost of the civil servants we have at the moment.
1 Like
You may get far better quailty with far fewer. Civil servants have what experience in going out into the ‘market’ looking for funding, they rely on the tax payer with no thought or effort of where it comes from.
1 Like
The cadet experience has changed IMO and while there may be an encrusted official line, we need to be doing things that gets the juices flowing and be able to react with more spontaneity. This is driven as @bob suggests, by a management structure that is from an institutionalised working life background, to be able to provide us with an organisation that empowers and enables volunteer staff to do things and deliver something that really appeals to teenagers. I have heard senior management mumble about empowering and enabling staff but I see little evidence from my perspective of it.
I personally feel our management is overpaid in terms of delivery and we could get better value from the outside market. Do we actually need what we have in terms of management? By losing say 4 RCs and just having a North and South director, reminiscent in many businesses, would release salary for a fundraising team.
1 Like
I tend to agree with this - the MOD is renown for its ducking and diving and the mindset of ATC management is locked into that game.
Its interesting reading the concerns over outside people when elsewhere in this forum there are topics and contributions suggesting ATC-HQ staff ought to be exposed to squadron level experiences - AKA the real World.
What we have here is a case of familiarity breeding conceit and ultimately that isn’t good for anyone. Some external people, lifting stones and coming up with ideas might invigorate the cadet experience. CAC originally had external sponsorship in mind - an interesting concept that could lead to ‘Sponsored by Samsung’ on your brassard!
Nevertheless, the moans and gripes here would suggest to any responsive management that fresh input to a tired and no doubt overstretched team of staff would not be a bad thing. You can only polish the turd for so long before the smell breaks through!
2 Likes
It definitely would be a good thing if those at the top actually volunteered as well.
And we already do some external engagement with the sponsorship of different awards and grants etc as detailed above. It would be interesting if, for example, Cyber and Radio was sponsored by Cisco or Icom for example.
Which, as I understand it, was part of the reason Vorders was brought in - to start tapping up and softening up such resources. The STEM camp, for example, does receive a significant chunk of private and company support.
In other areas, rather than direct financial support, its given as “in kind” - releasing staff to deliver training, interest sessions and mentoring.
Going back to Gordo, he made in roads into a number of larger organisations seeking sponsorship for Bader rollout, phone connections etc to support units. So rather than doing “big ticket camps” and top end celebration stuff, he was also looking at grass roots infrastructure needs.
At the moment we do seem focused more on top end stuff (funding GS, underwriting JL/QAIC, cash for top sqns, funding/sponsoring “central camps”) rather than the grassroots stuff.
Top end is important, there needs to be those high level things to motivate cadets to achieve the most they can etc. But yes, “grassroots” infrastructure stuff shouldn’t be ignored.
Surely the reverse is true, it’s those at squadron level who motivate and inspire just they haven’t some of the resources they need to continue to do so.
Well its both isn’t it.
On one hand, looking to these big shiny things at the top can motivate someone to do well and exceed. On the other hand a cadet who is offered loads of choice and activities at squadron level will also be motivated to do well and exceed.
My point was there needs to be balanced investment in both sides.
1 Like
Back to the point I made on another thread.
All our local ability is focussed on the cadets 1st 18months (1st class + Blue PTS)
After that all we have is Classifications and whatever a local sqn can muster based on the staff you have and what interests they have. Everything else now happens at Wg level at weekends where cadets have to travel putting strain on their families to facilitate
Funding and planning has to go into the cadet experience at Sqn level or the 18mth cadet life will be the norm (35% of my cadets over 18 mths service) - already the range I see is 12-16yrs with very few staying beyond their GCSEs and over 18s a real rarity
Although more funding and planning is needed, I think you’ve hit the component we need even more . . .
We all need more volunteers who are enthusiastic and are able to gain the suitable qualifications through the organisation to enable them to run activities. Then you need the funding to provide the equipment, and the planning to make each event happen.
A few years ago one of my cadets attended and completed JLs. He had a rail warrant for every training weekend If I remember rightly it was eight weekends and test week and each rail warrant was for over £100 that was over £1000 for the whole of JLs.
While JLs do a lot of good work and I do not want to be seen as a JL basher they start off with over 120 cadets and end with between 50 or 60. Simple maths will tell you that the bill for transporting cadets around the country will be in the region of five figures may be £40,000 may be more. then accommodation, staff pay and travel. It could be in the region of £100,000.
£100,000 will buy an awful lot of radio kit or STEM kit, or Field craft kit for wings or recruiting bumf or badges or rank slides. The corps seems to be fixated on big ticket camps none of witch add to the cadet experience. Why are we sending cadets on the flagship event on the cadet calendar and then getting them to do blue and bronze comms badges
7 Likes
Great thought process there. Same with QAIC in my opinion
2 Likes
The problem with squadrons getting and utilising the money is lack of SM exposure for the “great and the good”, which seems to be more important in the modern Air Cadets. So JL, QUAIC and so on will get the nod every time, which is a disappointment. The issue with the “big ticket” things is so few cadets from a squadron get to go, even Annual Camps now are not what they were when I was a lad and really formed part of what is now referred to as the ‘cadet experience’. Nothing better than going away with your mates from your squadron and seeing and doing things.
I agree in particular STEM kit needs to be prioritised and not just things that look / feel like hangar exercises and get the cadets doing and working on things.
Whilst investment in other areas is important at the same time we need to be giving Cadets something to aspire to and those things need to be affordable, or are we going to make JL exclusive so that only those Caddts who have £1000 to spend can go?
If it’s worth doing it’s worth paying for.
If we really want to look at places to save money get rid of RFCA and take our infrastructure in house, give OC’s a budget of X amount a year for bills and low level repairs with Wings having a pot of money for LVMW and bigger repairs and Regions having a lot of money for rebuilds etc. You can use whatever contractor/company you want but need Civilian Committee sign off to ensure that you aren’t on the fiddle.
7 Likes
Some good points being rased here. I don’t see why HQAC can’t get sponsorship from companies think of the PR radio companies could get if they replaced our out dated radios or Dell etc could get if they provided us with PCs or our tutors having sponsored by Babcock on the tail if it freed up money for other things as for JI and other courses maybe wings should or could run pre course training to weed cadets unlikely to reach the stardard before they go to JL
The word on the street is that the big ticket camps are being reviewed at the moment - I think one of the things to be scrutinised is value for money.
I’ve also heard that HQAC will be providing STEM kits to Wing HQs - though what will be in them, I couldn’t say…
Straws and sheets of paper, knowing the quality of most STEM stuff in the corps.
2 Likes
That’s already happened, it’s the reason that only 3 Regions have got spaces for RIAT and D&C etc
are you implying that JL, QAIC etc are not part of, or a worthy, interesting and valuable part of the Cadet experience??
(NB I haven’t been, as a student or instructor, on any such camp so come with no bias, simply curiosity)