Navylark said:
It is there in the belief that these bright young things from University will be the movers and shakers of the future, the captains of industry, politicians, leaders of Great Britain Plc and that their experience in the URNU will leave them thinking warmly about the RN - thus endorse giving it more money!
That was the thinking - but maybe today's graduates are not the same. Not many captains of industry have degrees in Media from the University Redrickshire? So perhaps the days of the URNU for this reason alone are numbered? Also these days, how many more BRNC entrants already have a first degree!!!
I honestly think that lots of the URNU students I have seen WILL be the "movers and shakers" of the future. These are bright, motivated young people, who can juggle a real time commitment with a busy degree, and URNU alumni already fill some pretty punchy jobs in the City, media and commerce. In fact, to my eyes, the key phrase in the URNU mission statement is "future opinion formers", and perhaps we should be concentrating on teachers rather than future politicians.
As an aside, most of the URNUs are not at Spunkbridge Poly, but cover prestigious and important Universities (and a few crap ones) including Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, London, Durham, Glasgow, Manchester etc (full list on the RN webshite). Yes, about 10% of the URNU intake apply for the RN but surely that's a good thing - an added bonus in fact - as let's face it, the RN is rubbish at PR and recruiting.
Navylark said:
I think the URNU has a valid place but whether it requires so much spending on it as compared to the RNR who are constantly beleaguered by financial restraints. Watch out for the hitchikers on the M3 as their RTU has run of money for travel! This is a nonsense which will soon gain higher profile no doubt.
Notwithstanding the RNR financial constraints, you are utterly mistaken about the URNU funding. The entire organisation is funded by BRNC Dartmouth, out of the BRNC budget, and comes to about £3 million a year, including the salaries (and NI contributions) of the 14 Ship's Companies, 14 office staff (Coxswain + Secretary) and 8 HQ staff. For the last 4 years, Dartmouth has made savage cuts to the URNU budget in order to pay for various BRNC projects (including the huge 42" plasma TV screens dotted around the college that have replaced Daily Order bits of A4), including last year a 36% cut in all travel and subsistence budgets.
My last point, and one that was ignored when I brought it up on a previous posting, is that the RNR miss a huge opportunity every year, about now, by not mailshotting the 240 odd URNU students who graduate every summer, 210 of whom do not want to join the RN. Of the units that do make an effort - PRESIDENT had a push last year - the initial interest is then ruined by the infrequent and absymal presentations they give to potential recruits. Last month, for example, PRESIDENT gave a talk to a group of 40 or so keen young people interested in the RNR, but the content was so bad, there was no-one to talk to afterwards, and most people there walked out in disgust at the unprofessionalism of it all. BZ PRESIDENT!