Recruiting & Retention

A bit of a leading question on the Poll (guess what answer I'm after )

These are links back to ARRSE I'm afraid but that is where the critical mass of recruiters for Reserve forces live:

Recruiting

Retention

See also ARRSEPedia:

Recruiting

Retention

I think we have a golden opportunity to work together on this one. When the RFCAs launched TA Day we hosted a display competition between the 3 cadet units in our area - SCC, ACF, ATC and all 3 recruited more each than they would normally have recruited alone.

Any thoughts as to whether or not it would work for us as well?

 

I know every organisation has to have an age limit but I am due to retire soon at age 50. I would love to get back into something to do with the RN and feel I have a lot to offer (15 years in the RN, 20 years in the police, submarines and helicopters)

Is there any way I can make myself useful and is there any way I can get into the RNR or similar?

 

Stop direct entry officers and make them do 3 to 4 years as a rating first then if they are good enough they can go upper yardsman. This would solve our problem....................... Firstly, we would have enough lads because half the officers of today would fail their commision because they could not hack real work and secondly, the officers would not be so out of touch because they would of been in the ratings for a few years.


You ALL know what I mean

 

Not entirely sure I do Rea1.

Until very recently the only true direct entry officer were list 1, medics or ex-somethings. Are you saying we should have them running about in SPO teams? I am not sure that is the best use of resources.

In the RNR (and the RN) officer's do a very different job from ratings. If you are an RM officer, you live in the same holes and get cold and wet just the way they do. They both charge up the hill to face the enemy's bullets.

It's costs money to train people, to train them with skills you know they won't use for more than a few years. A bit pointless.

It could be argued that we should be streaming faster now than before.

 

I agree RM. I for one was glad to see a return to direct entry officers. The idea of bringing someone in as JR, sending them to Raleigh, then raising CW papers and sitting AIB simply meant we had potential Officers sitting in limbo, often for up to 2 years. Again the RNR was out of step with the RN (Before anyone starts shouting, I was a JR for 5 years before being commisioned).

Rea1: Don't follow your argument. If a rating can't be commisioned because he can't "hack real world work", he's not going to remain as a rating either is he? Some people are happy to remain as ratings other want to be officers, the system has to reflect this.

 

I was given to understand that DNRes were quite keen to get the length of time it takes to get people on the trained strength down - in the case of officers, this could easily be >5 years, especially in those who had come in via New Entry and Raleigh before sitting the AIB.

FWIW, I can't think of anyone at my unit who came in direct entry who wasn't either MN, medical, ex-URNU, or joined from another service.

 

That's a negative. The scheme was being introduced, but a couple of months ago (I have the exact memorandum here somewhere) they put it on hold. The buzz was that there was some kind of admin headache, but whatever the reason, it's on hold with no date given for continuation.

There ARE, however, a few different ways to AIB in the RNR. If you want the inside scoop, message me.

 

Wasn't aware of that Uncle A. Good gen - wish they'd let the rest of us know as we are meant to be recruiting people too!

As you say though, there are loopholes to gain direct Officer entry. I'll PM you to make sure we're on the same wavelength!

 

I don't think an officer has to have been a rating to be able to do his job, but it can help. The officer must understand both what the ratings do, and how the ratings think/feel. When I trained, after 2 years as an RNR JME we did 3 months in the training squadron acting as ODs and ME2s, and that was a good experience as to what the work was like and what living in a messdeck was like. Equally as a Mid I had my share of 'ratings' work especially in the engineroom, as a seaman it was 'good for my soul.

Of course today training time are cut so it is the 'experience' bits that are cut, and I do think that is a real loss. When I trained almost 25% of my training time was about man mangement in one way or another, how long does today's modern Navy spend? Certainly industry has only spent a couple of weeks over the past 30 years adding to my management skills.

Direct entry should not be a problem if the training is right, and bad training is not an excuse for denying the service the benefits from direct entry, you need to get the training fixed.

And always remeber some people will always be a prat no matter how you train them, and you will always get a proportion of prats passing AIB, it may be good but it can make mistakes too.

Peter

 

I don't know about the UK, but the Danes, at least until recently, very sensibly, allow their reservists in their Home Guards: Army, Airforce and Naval (Marinehjemmevaernet*) to serve longer than we do, based upon ability. I am aware of a small number of reservists in their late 70s. You can join their home guard so long as you have lived in Denmark for at least a year and are sufficiently fluent in Danish to be useful. I know this is no substitute for the RNR, but if you were sufficiently keen, is an option. I visited their Slipshavn training base several years ago - a great place to be - remote, bleak and windswept like Ganges - but there the similarity ends!

* http://www.mhv-hjv.dk/page.php?14

 

Have you though of the Sea Cadets (I know of someone who went to the Sea Cadets at the end of their List 3 RNR career)?

Another maritime option is the Maritime Volunteer Service, which has essentially grown out of the legacy of the RNXS.

Or, and this would be my preferred option personnaly, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. From their website "At the date of enlistment a candidate should normally be between the ages of 17½ and 50, although those aged up to 55 years may be considered if they are ex-service." As you're ex-RN you should be OK. I've been very impressed with my dealings with them, well trained and well funded.