Joining admin/hr Scotland

[K3293]

Hey everyone,

Just signed up to this forum recently and thought I'd create a post. I am seriously considering joining the RAF I research it everyday, even when I am working all I can think about is a better life. Anyway, I am keen on the personnel, HR side of things. Just wondered if anyone else was considering this or has been successful in their application etc.

also I am from Scotland, anyone else?

I am aiming to visit the AFCO next week!

thank you!

 

[Gonterseed]

Welcome to the Goat K3293

There are definitely quite a few shiny types here who can give you good info about joining as an erk or an ossifer. Regardless of how interested and suitable you may be to do the job, you have to have the relevant academic tickets and not want to complain too much about doing a press-up or two.

As far as I recall, being a Scot doesn't make any difference. You still get the same treatment as (Some) Commonwealth, Northern Irish, Welsh or English. Whether you see that treatment is good, bad or indifferent is subjective and would be up to you to decide.

 

[ady eflog]

Welcome to the Goat K3293

There are definitely quite a few shiny types here who can give you good info about joining as an erk or an ossifer. Regardless of how interested and suitable you may be to do the job, you have to have the relevant academic tickets and not want to complain too much about doing a press-up or two.

As far as I recall, being a Scot doesn't make any difference. You still get the same treatment as (Some) Commonwealth, Northern Irish, Welsh or English. Whether you see that treatment is good, bad or indifferent is subjective and would be up to you to decide.

Just remember that there is only 1 big camp in Scotland at RAF Lossiemouth, the majority of the camps are in England, so if you want to live anywhere near your family you might never get it.

 

[K3293]

Hey!

Thank you, so much, for getting back to me so quickly honestly never expected it!
Yeah that is fine, in all honesty, I am looking forward to the Fitness side of things, I'm a qualified fitness instructor (Level 2) and enjoy different aspects normally.
I am SO keen on this, and thank you for the information on the bases! Really appreciated. Yeah I do quite like England and the job is more important, I will make time for family life, when I have it I suppose.

The process usually takes quite long doesn't it? I am going to the AFCO next week! Registering interest and get the ball rolling. Just gonna stick it at!

Silly question so I am sorry: but while doing the application process, training and tests etc... Do people still maintain their part time or full-time jobs? I'm full time at the moment, but might change to part time to free up some time to study and work out.

Thanks again!!

 

[penfold93]

Hey!

Thank you, so much, for getting back to me so quickly honestly never expected it!
Yeah that is fine, in all honesty, I am looking forward to the Fitness side of things, I'm a qualified fitness instructor (Level 2) and enjoy different aspects normally.
I am SO keen on this, and thank you for the information on the bases! Really appreciated. Yeah I do quite like England and the job is more important, I will make time for family life, when I have it I suppose.

The process usually takes quite long doesn't it? I am going to the AFCO next week! Registering interest and get the ball rolling. Just gonna stick it at!

Silly question so I am sorry: but while doing the application process, training and tests etc... Do people still maintain their part time or full-time jobs? I'm full time at the moment, but might change to part time to free up some time to study and work out.

Thanks again!!

The choice is yours, if you can fit phys in around work (Before or after) then you still have a wage coming in.

Not sure about now but pay sometimes takes a while to get sorted properly so having a bit in reserve is a bonus.

Obviously if you join a gym that costs so weigh up the pros and cons. Its also worth considering that you may want to buy a few 'extras' if you are successful (decent iron etc) so having a bit of cash never hurt.

Other things to consider are travel costs, again if you are successful then travel to Scotland can be expensive so think about that aspect as well.

At the end of the day its your decision and if you feel your current job full time would be detrimental to your application process then make the switch but be wary of biting the hand that feeds you should you not get in.

Good luck

 

[MattBombHead]

To start the ball rolling you'll be directed to the RAF Recruitment webpage https://www.raf.mod.uk/recruitment/ (there are practice AST questions on there, as well as a Bleep Test MP3 download with all the Fitness Requirements for your age/ sex, along with a wealth of information about all the different trades and branches) and register your interest with a Call Centre. You'll then recieve an email when your Trade opens for 'processing' which will contain a link to the actual application form. From there, you'll be contacted by your local AFCO to arrange the Airman Selection Test and the process properly starts.

WRT your current employment, definitely keep at it, as the process CAN take a while - and of course, you may not be selected, so don't burn all your bridges too soon.

 

[K3293]

Oooh, wow thank you so much for all of your advice! Grat tips and I really appreciate it, you have really made me more information haha!
Yeah definitely about the job prospect... Just keep the opportunity open and I may as well take the advantage of having a Full Time job at the moment, again thank you!
Call centre - as in RAF AFCO? Sorry I am a little silly, and I am in work so just so intrigued in this forum and interested!
Sounds great, definitely will look into this again thank you for the tips!
I look it up every night, trying to find out everything.

Quick question: do certain medical conditions like anxiety affect the role or does it depend on your trade? Of course it has an impact just hope it would not be too deterimental!

Thank you again!

 

[MattBombHead]

WRT the Call Centre - Several years ago, a civilian company was contracted to take the initial enquiries and initial processing from the AFCOs - hence the first real contact you have wwith an AFCO (assuming you don't visit prior to starting the Recruitment and Selection Process) is when you attend for your AST.

 

[K3293]

Ahh I understand now!
Thank you very much... I'm going to visit the AFCO next week for well as long as it takes!!

 

[K3293]

Is HR/admin clerk like a call centre job? :grey::grey::ambivalence::ambivalence:

 

[busby1971]

Nothing like it.

Sent from my SM-T715 using Tapatalk

 

[K3293]

Nothing like it.

Sent from my SM-T715 using Tapatalk

Thank you, made my day! Haha... Was worried there

 

[muttywhitedog]

Busby's been gone from the RAF a while now. I left two years ago and the way military HR was being developed was bringing devolved HR back to a central point. I spent almost my entire career embedded with an organization varying from 120 to 350 personnel, getting to know them, helping them with their payroll queries and a myriad of other admin functions.

The trigger point for me leaving was the removal of this facility. The creation of a centralized call-centre (JPAC) was supposed to have taken away a lot of the questions from the military personnel, but all it did was create confusion, as the JPAC would refer the caller back to his HR! To create this white elephant, the numbers of administrators had been cut by around 35% and to have HR delivered at the coal face was a luxury that could no longer be maintained with what manpower was left. The ramifications of the withdrawal of devolved HR was everyone had one central point to visit or call. Personnel were "encouraged" to e-mail their queries rather than face-face or telephone, and quite often the HR office would be closed for staff development. It led to HR getting a bad name.

No doubt the next step (when the next round of Govt-imposed cuts happen) will be to have a regionalized military HR Cell with just a handful of approachable personnel on each unit. It was talked about at Wittering in 2013 as "when", not "if", with scenarios such as a car full of HR personnel being at one base on a Mon, another on Tue, Wed etc.

Finally, as a current civil servant in a building that accommodates around 600 people, I have zero HR on site. If I want to speak to HR I have to do it between 8am and 6pm Mon-Fri, when I speak to someone based in Newport. Do I like it? No. Does it work? Yes.

Military HR will go the same way. The JPAC is just the beginning.

 

[busby1971]

No doubt the next step (when the next round of Govt-imposed cuts happen) will be to have a regionalized military HR Cell with just a handful of approachable personnel on each unit. It was talked about at Wittering in 2013 as "when", not "if", with scenarios such as a car full of HR personnel being at one base on a Mon, another on Tue, Wed etc.

Finally, as a current civil servant in a building that accommodates around 600 people, I have zero HR on site. If I want to speak to HR I have to do it between 8am and 6pm Mon-Fri, when I speak to someone based in Newport. Do I like it? No. Does it work? Yes.

Military HR will go the same way. The JPAC is just the beginning.

I don't see what's wrong with this format for HR, most HR these days relies on Self Service for the majority tasks, a central/regional help centre for queries and then teams of specialists who pick up the complicated stuff. The affordability of having someone down the corridor room deal with your admin has long gone and totally unnecessary in our connected world, the Kardex is not coming back.

It's being able to get involved in the complicated stuff that will engage and develop HR guys and give them a career and a future in or out of the RAF, not dealing with petty and repetivite administrative issues created by system errors. People who develop an agile mind, business focused decision making process and have a basic understanding of commercial fundamentals will always be in demand.

Anyway guys remember this is a recruitment forum so posts that are seen as unhelpful will always disappear.

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[K3293]

I don't see what's wrong with this format for HR, most HR these days relies on Self Service for the majority tasks, a central/regional help centre for queries and then teams of specialists who pick up the complicated stuff. The affordability of having someone down the corridor room deal with your admin has long gone and totally unnecessary in our connected world, the Kardex is not coming back.

It's being able to get involved in the complicated stuff that will engage and develop HR guys and give them a career and a future in or out of the RAF, not dealing with petty and repetivite administrative issues created by system errors. People who develop an agile mind, business focused decision making process and have a basic understanding of commercial fundamentals will always be in demand.

Anyway guys remember this is a recruitment forum so posts that are seen as unhelpful will always disappear.

Sent from my SM-T715 using Tapatalk

Thank you busby I really appreciate that and the positivity. I just want a positive outlook on the job before I join. Thank you everyone else for their comments, I just do not want to be disheartened or put off by the job in the view that is simply just a "call centre" cause then that would put someone off straight away! But all comments are very useful. Regardless, I am still going to apply...because I have had a few comments detailing it is much more than a call centre. And people who work as clerks as well just now who have direct insight into the job.

 

[MattBombHead]

Ahh I understand now!
Thank you very much... I'm going to visit the AFCO next week for well as long as it takes!!

Give them a call first, no point turning up on a day they can't see you and wasting the trip.

Top tip there

 

[K3293]

Give them a call first, no point turning up on a day they can't see you and wasting the trip.

Top tip there

Haha, thank you
I phoned earlier this week and said it was a drop in, no appointments required and they would discuss it with me for however long was necessary!

 

[K3293]

I just done the AST online (RAF website) bearing in mind I had not had breakfast and just woken up, but wow that was difficult, made me feel really incompetent!! Anyone else struggle at their first attempt? Also is it significantly different if you are doing different trades? As there was electrical and engingeering questions and I am looking at a more clerical trade? Sorry for sounding unsure just thought I would ask! :hopelessness::dread::upset:

Thank you very much

 

[MattBombHead]

The AST is 'weighted' for different trades. Clearly, if you wanted to join as an engineering trade, but couldn't answer any questions in the Eng bits, you'd be 'counselled' into considering another trade...