Does anyone know when the RAF will recruit Pilots again?

Hi, I've been looking round on the internet a lot recently to try to find out about RAF Pilots roles. I'm 15 rights now and will be 17.5 to apply in February 2014. I've heard all sorts of different things about the topic such as they will resume in April 2012 then be frozen again, another source that they will resume in 2013 and be frozen in 2015 when there are more job cuts. Can anyone tell me with confidence what is happening?

Thanks, I appreciate this forums and it's users help a lot.

Reply 1

Drewski

No. Noone can, because no one knows for certain. All you get is best guess, which is as vague as what you've already posted.

You asked the same question in a different thread 3 weeks ago and got the same answer...?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

C_B_C

Would you consider another role in the RAF?

Being a pilot is, and always will be, extremely competetive: everybody wants to do it.

Would you consider maybe a role in either the Army or the Navy?

If, by the time you're 18, there's still no space in the RAF, would you consider studying a degree for 3 years and hoping that they're recruiting again by the time you graduate?
(plus, you'd have a better chance of getting in with a degree, in my opinion)

Just a few things to think about.

It's great that you're getting interested so soon: this sort of enthusiasm is something they'll be looking out for.

Reply 3

dumdumdumdidum

Just to give you an idea of recruitment in the RAF at the moment: I have been given three separate dates that have all been and gone this year for when they are expecting the branch I am interested in to open up. If they can't say for definite what will be happening in the next few months they definitely cannot predict years down the line. Just start working on your application now and you will prepared for when pilot does open. The good news is that at 15 you are highly likely to get an opportunity to apply for pilot before you are considered too old.

Reply 4

Sljmaster

Thanks for the replies.

I sort of only really want to be a pilot but i'm so determined to become one. Last month I decided, because i'm not as fit as I should be, I should start running, since then I've run on the treadmill or road running with my dad 4/5 nights a week and i'm now thinking about doing it 6/7. I'm doing well at school and should get above the requirements. I planned to keep trying to get into the RAF as a pilot until the age of 24 when it is too late, after that I don't know what i'll do, it will definitly be something in the military I will just have to look into it if worst comes to worst.

As for university I was hoping if instead I train physically until i'm in the top few percent of the people applying that can make up for it. Which hopfully I should be able to do with another 3 years of running and i've been doing weights for a while now along with pushups and situps. I would also be interesting in joining the Navy as a pilot and will probably apply at the same time but the RAF would be my first choice.

I know they like leadership and teamwork qualities also. Would it help if I joined a sports team like rugby? (i'm terrible at football) Is there anything else I can do to make my application stand out more?

Thanks

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 5

ProStacker

Being the fittest man in NATO is not what is needed to be a pilot. Potential is needed. Potential to be able to learn an awful lot of complicated information in a short time and apply it. Potential for leadership and potential for teamwork. Being in the top few percent on press ups means nothing if you can't compete mentally across every area.

Reply 6

craglyboy

Agreed with pro there. The reason people say to get a degree before applying is because there are so many variables which you can't control that contribute to your selection, You may be the perfect candidate but with less than adequate eyesight, you may have an allergy you may have an unknown medical condition or like me currently they are not recruiting!! The degree is to show you have the academic ability to perform and also a back up for yourself if you don't get in, also if you have not got involved with extra cirricular activities by now then university would be an excellent place for you to do so.

With regards to proving leadership you have to want to do things to achieve them not just think if I do this it will help my RAF application.

Reply 7

41Alpha

I know this post is a few months old now but I've just come across it whilst trawling the web to see what the word is amongst hopefuls on joining as pilots. I thought I'd add a point or two.

I would personally agree and say that having a degree would be an advantage, however not a necessity. I went through OASC in 2010 with no degree. I had 3 average A-Levels (my OASC report even stated I had a 'mediocre' education) but I was still accepted. I was picked due to my motivation, leadership ability and previous activities. I had been part of the ATC for 5 years, I'd don't numerous military related activities at home and abroad and it had always been a life long ambition. You need to prove that to them... I joined at the age of 21 having worked in an office as a manager since leaving college but I'd been heavily involved with fitness, sports and the ATC. Out of the 70+ on my IOT, I was one of 5 without a university education, 3 of which were ex rankers. This gives you an idea of the type of people they have a preference for.

I say go for it at 18, there was a lad training at 18 with me. My point is it's not essential to have a Ba or Bsc after your name, as long as you can prove you're motivated and dedicated. I've had no trouble with the academics or training so give it a go (if they're recruiting). Don't let it hold you back, if they say no, go to university and join the UAS. That was the other thing I picked up on nearly all the pilots had done it.

Good luck!

Original post by 41Alpha

Thanks for the reply! What I'm thinking of doing now is applying when I can after my A levels but also applying for uni, if I don't get accepted I'll go to a uni with an ATC and I think I can continue applying through uni, then I'll apply after I've completed the course and if I still can't get in then it's time to consider other options but hopefully with the dedication I plan to continue putting into this over the next few years I'll get in.

Reply 10

Andy1973

Sljmaster,

My plan when I joined the RAF was very similar to yours.

I applied to join pre-University, and was fortunate enough to be offered a pilot place. I also had a couple of university offers on the table, but reasoned that the offer to go to Uni would still be there if pilot training didn't work out. There was no guarantee that the RAF would be recruiting pilots in any meaningful numbers in 2-3 years time when I would have applied again.

With hindsight, I'm glad that I made the choice that I did. In the early 90s, the pilot training pipeline had similar problems to today, and recruiting numbers would have been very small at the time that I would have graduated.

In an ideal world, it would be nice to be able to plan to finish University and join the RAF straight after. Unfortunately, the numbers game just doesn't work out like that. If someone is committed to an RAF pilot career, they need to be ready to apply when the slots are available.

As to the original question; when will the RAF recruit pilots again? No-one can know for sure. However, its important to understand that the Service would like to have a steady flow through of people onto the Squadrons. Not recruiting for a branch in any given year leaves a "black hole" in the manning plot for many years to come. This causes huge problems further down the line when, for example, there are no pilots eligible for Advanced Staff College in 15 years time. With the demographic issues of promotion, exit points etc, the profiling of age is quite important, and the RAF will want to open some form of recruiting as soon as possible. This may be very limited, but I personally would be very surprised if there was not some recruiting within 12 months.

Although it may sound counter-intuitive, the trainee pilot redundancies are part of this strategy. Without doing this, the training pipeline would been clogged up with too many people that were recruited before the taps were switched off. This causes excess holds, requires refresher training and brings its own problems. But more significantly, this "backlog generation" would have prevented new entrants joining the Service for even longer. Projected forward, this would have given an RAF with lots of pilots who joined in 2008/9, then no-one behind them until recruiting re-opened in maybe 2013/14/15? When the backlog generation reaches their exit points, the RAF's pilot manning is once again thrown out of balance. Of course, this is no consolation to the many young people whose career aspirations were cruelly dashed, but it is the reality of trying to maintain long-term manning balance in a rapidly changing air force.

So, a long-winded answer perhaps, but I think the short message is that limited pilot recruiting will start sooner than might be expected.

The redundancies of pilots within the training pipeline is actually a manifestation of that intent.