Hello guys,
Does anyone have any experience of getting an extension for OIC? I was due to sit mine soon, but have been offered an interview that I can’t change. Apparently there are no more slots on OIC until April 2020. This is the 12 month deadline for me.
Cheers,
Valiant.
Talk to your WExO and OCWing - get them to clear it though ATF.
Had something similar happen at my unit recently and he is now one of those filling up the early 2020 courses.
Seconded, I had it with both OIC and SCC both times due to job changes without any issues. (I’d been in Command for almost 3 years before I wasted my week on the Squadron Commanders Course!)
I just asked my TEST Sgt and said it was all approved. Booked on a course now which will be some 19 months post commission. I would imagine you have a similar thing through your WExO? They know they don’t have enough spots so I think the 12 month rule is to weed out those who don’t care rather than those with genuine reasons
Just had a look at the nominal roles for the courses and was shocked to find out that the size of the course has shrunk. When I did the WOs course and the OIC course the maximum number for both was 20.
This has shrunk to 14 of OIC and 12 for SSIC. I am shocked, no-wonder people are struggling to get on courses. There even seems to be less courses, there are 16 admin or BH weeks without a course running.
There are 11 SSIC courses and 13 OIC. That only gives a max of 181 for OIC and only 132 SSIC places available in a year. That gives each wing 5.3 OIC and 3.9 SSIC places. So each wing can only appoint 9 staff a year.
As long as I know an extension is possible. I can’t believe there’s no more spaces between now and April. Not ideal.
i can.
a friend of mine tried to get on the course having completed the Wing familiarisation training slides (May), they couldn’t make the next available date, (September) was available for the November date but was already full and was looking at January dates…!
I’m just worried I’ll get binned. I haven’t had the opportunity to do this earlier either, so that means in a 12 month window, there’s only one month where I could be on a course.
I really hope this isn’t going to be an issue.
I find it crazy that if someone commissioned now, they have 12 months to do OIC, but the next 6 courses are all full, so really they have a six month window.
It really wont be, book yourself in to the first course you can and and then email your wing commander explaining the situation. They are only bothered about people not trying to get booked in rather than people through work struggling withing the first 12 months.
I cannot see why you’d be binned - you seem to have a legitimate reason for it to be deferred.
They are really most concerned with people who have made no effort to get on the course and just let the time tick by.
Though that being said we have a member of staff on the books who left ages ago and never attended OIC some 4/5 years now since commissioning. No action taken to remove her yet.
I wouldn’t worry too much, we have an ASgt waiting for SSIC, but he wasn’t told of his appointment for 6 months, technically giving him only 6 months to get a course booked in. He’s at uni so can’t just take the first course on offer.
Once explained to Wing, they were fine with it, just said to get on the first course he can.
Will give my Wing OC a call tonight to follow up the email I sent earlier. April 2020 will be unlikely too dependent on how successful my interview goes. I’m guessing extensions are at the Wing OCs discretion?
same happened to me. Appointed in my sandwich year, not told until a few months later the start of final year, too busy to take a week off so deferred until the following summer
If they didn’t grant extensions and stuck to the 12 month rule, there would be around half the number of uniformed staff, given the number of ATF courses that get cancelled, people not being able to fit one in and a combination of these factors.