Firstly, you don’t need to go out of area. You can go sideways into another training discipline. None of us just do one activity.
Secondly why are we referring to Sergeants on probation as Acting Sergeants. Show me one piece of policy that mentions Acting Sergeant as rank, and I’ll happily changing my point of view.
Please don’t use the fact the weekly report from RAFAC HQ says ASGT on it, this is a legacy thing, it still says AFS and AWO when you get promoted to higher ranks and reverts back to when CFAVs were called Adult WO/FS/Sgt.
Those people are in those positions as they are the most capable and have the time available to volunteer. As they get older and kids come along you will naturally have them moving back to Squadrons and having less spare time to offer. So even restricting the rank to people who do those jobs you are still going to see turnover and people back on Squadrons as WO’s.
You could put 10 years instead of 4 years between promotions of you want, you would just end up with Sergeants as WWO, or you would end up with the WWO being picked from a tiny pool of candidates irrespective of ability.
But I’ve learnt the review brought in improved progression for SNCOs…
…20 years on there is now a population of WO (SNCO Cadre getting top heavy with WO) with no progression in Rank.
The review only delayed the problem of direct entry WO having no progression available. We now see the same type of eager/keen/active SNCO with no progression available after a delay of Sgt and FS…
I’m not sure what the solution is as you rightly point out extending the 4years before eligibility for promotion to 10 years causes other issues and is too far the other way.
But having learnt the SNCO ranks were introduced to offer progression it has only partially achieved that…as once at WO which isn’t a challenge to achieve given the numbers we now see amongst the CFAV population, the problem remains…and only really put a “short” delay
You can’t progress forever you will ultimately reach the top of whatever pyramid you are in.
Most Commissioned Officers will stop at Flt Lt rank, that’s just the reality yet. Yes they have 2 further ranks above them that they can aspire too but the reality is that most stay as Flt Lt’s.
It can be argued that if a WO wants to progress further their are 5 higher ranks that they can aspire too.
Never has and never will be. So many problems have been caused through efforts to remain “true” to the parent service in the past. Our model is different, our personnel are different, our MO is different, etc.
Never quite related to this argument. I’ve never seen rank as the mark of progression but as recognition and a marker of experience and ability - we have little else (how do you readily tell who would be better for a job out of a group you’ve only just met). It is a mark of progression (or rather development) if the requirements hadn’t been so woolly and applied so loosely, because being more tied to ability and applied experience/skills would be far better.
True progression in this org is upskilling, qualling, and taking on roles.
One small but really effective change, would be to require EVERY cfav in the Corps to hold at least one qual.
Even if only 1, this would boost capacity no end.
Even if it were just a blue radio qual or a efa instructor…
I find it bizarre that this isbt a requirement. Forget 12 hours min per month for uniformed staff. Stress that uniformed staff must maintain X number of quals.
Do staff really want rank progression? Was there a survey in these reviews that found this out?
What we do is on a loop. Year in, year out, it’s one big loop like most things in life. As mentioned, the majority of staff will hit their rank ceiling fairly early on, especially officers who can end up as Flt Lt pretty quickly.
Additional roles and responsibilities are there if you want, and you can do as much as you like with cadets and be on a course every weekend if you really want.
It isn’t the rank that keeps people in, it’s firstly the cadets, a sense of achievement and a laugh with the other staff that keeps people in.
Ask those that leave why. How many say that if only they could have gone up a rank they’d have stayed. Usually staff leave as they feel squeezed out by increasing admin taking the fun out/change in personal circumstance Etc.
Advancement to Chief Petty Officer (CPO) or promotion to Colour Sergeant (CSgt) (SCC).
After 5 years’ service in the lower rank/rate, POs and Sgts will be eligible for advancement to CPO or promotion to CSgt if they:
Hold a Learning & Development instructor Licence and be in date for observations. Or, an in date IM grade until the transition period from IM to L&D ends in December 2020.
Hold at least one ‘in date’ instructor-level qualification (for RMC this qualification must be in a relevant discipline).
Have the recommendation of their District Officer
Have satisfactory completed the CPO & CSgt Qualifying Course.
They also require slightly more to progress from PPO / P/Sgt to substantive PO / Sgt than we do. Namely, they must learn the core subject matter - Seamanship for SCC; and Fieldcraft and Map Reading for RMC.
