Flying Officer Ross Clarke, 26, joined the RAF ten years ago, with A-levels in maths and geography. His postings in the UK included deployments to Canada, Oman, Cyprus and Italy. As an airframe technician he served on the Harrier force before early selection for an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship and National Certificate (BTEC) in aircraft engineering. A ‘varied and challenging personal development plan included quality management, health and safety, and various university short courses in subjects like international relations’. The aim was to become eligible and competitive for commissioning into the RAF’s engineering branch, and he was duly selected in 2004.

Unfortunately he was injured during initial officer training so decided to use the time for further personal development projects. These included NEBS management, a diploma in administrative management, a certificate in safety management and an environmental management course. He also used the recently opened defence electronic learning centres, as well as becoming a sub-aqua instructor and a scuba equipment servicing technician.

His engineering officer training focused on a Higher National Diploma in aerospace engineering, the European computer driving licence and a project management module, as well as other formal courses. The accreditation of his RAF training and the other courses he had undertaken made him eligible for a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Lincoln, which he used ELC to fund.
 

He intends to develop this into a master’s degree in due course and become a Chartered Engineer. He also wants to enhance his portfolio of other management qualifications so that he has as much as possible to offer the RAF and any subsequent employer. With this in mind, he has just applied to join the Chartered Management Institute’s chartered manager programme.

 

He wants to enhance his portfolio of management qualifications so that he has as much as possible to offer the RAF and any subsequent employer
 

Flight Lieutenant Craig Dickie, Royal Air Force

 

Flight Lieutenant Craig Dickie, 36, joined the RAF in March 1989 as an apprentice technician. A three-year apprenticeship led to an HNC in aeronautical engineering, and tours on Tornado and Nimrod squadrons. During this time, he took a number of Open University courses and qualified as a D32 and D33 assessor and verifier.

In 2004, he was commissioned as an aero systems engineering officer, completing his specialist engineering training in June 2005 and winning the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ prize for academic achievement in the process.

His next step was to complete a Lincoln University first-class honours degree in engineering management – an award that is given to only the very best students. At the same time he was working as the mission radar and systems manager on the Sentry airborne early warning project team.

His degree led him to seek professional registration as a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Despite not having the master’s degree that is usual for the award of Chartered status, he was able to show sufficient depth of knowledge during the professional review to become a Chartered Engineer.
Using his experience on the Sentry team, he completed a range of project management courses and qualified as a PRINCE2 and Association for Project Management practitioner.

Now serving at Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering at Cosford, he has recently qualified as a neurolinguistic programming practitioner and is including a wide range of university short courses in his continuing professional development. At the same time, he is looking for a suitable programme on which to achieve his current goal: a master’s degree.

He was able to show sufficient depth of knowledge during the professional review to become a Chartered Engineer
 

Warrant Officer Class 1 (Sergeant Major Instructor) Steven Grey, Army Physical Training Corps

 

Now in his early forties, Steven Grey joined the Army in 1985 after school years during which he was ‘extremely interested in and dedicated to competing in a variety of sports – playing before school, during lunchtimes and representing the school in the evenings. Unfortunately, the time and effort I dedicated to school activities possibly led me to be an under-achiever academically.

‘When joining the Army, it amazed me that the opportunity to be an academic achiever was still available to me, so I grasped the second chance and studied at every opportunity the Forces provided.’ The main thing he found was that he could enjoy studying for only one subject, so he found it easy to absorb the information. He progressed to higher-level qualifications, cumulating in a master’s degree in education and training.

Along the way he became British Powerlifting Organisation Champion, and served with units in England, Germany and the Falkland Islands, including deployment to Canada and operational tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Bosnia. His Army service also provided 15 BTECs in sport-related subjects, a City & Guilds in carpentry and joinery, a manual handling and assessor award, and internal and external assessment and verification qualifications.

He obtained an NVQ level 5 in management and a Chartered Management Institute Diploma through Ashford College, which might be enough for most people … however, he followed this with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education through Sunderland University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Studies and his master’s degree with the Open University.
 

Now on resettlement at Bristol Management Centre, he is adding the PRINCE2 project management qualification to his portfolio. ‘If I am successful on the APTC commissioning board it will be used as a management tool in any further career path the Armed Forces chooses to employ me in. Coupled with my other qualifications I believe it will widen my employability, providing me with new employment options I may not previously have had.’

 

It amazed me that the opportunity to be an academic achiever was still available to me
 

Lt Ellen Harrison RN

 

Ellen Harrison, Survival Equipment Training Officer (SETO) at HMS Sultan, joined the Royal Navy in June 1990 as a non-sea-going Wren Air Engineering Mechanic, training at HMS Raleigh and HMS Daedalus before eventually transferring to her first Sea Harrier Squadron, 801 NAS, on board HMS Ark Royal in April 1993. Over the years that followed, she worked in various departments relating to the Sea Harrier until it was decommissioned in 2006. During this time she served with all three Harrier Squadrons and all three Aircraft Carriers.

After the decommissioning, she says, ‘I spent 18 months at RAF Wittering as the Quality Assurance Coordinator with 20 (R) Squadron as part of Joint Force Harrier. I passed the Admiralty Interview Board in 2005 and was selected as the first female Senior Upper Yardman (Aviation) (SUY(AV)) in September 2007. I attended BRNC Dartmouth in June 2008 and took up my first appointment as the SETO at HMS Sultan in October 2008.’

During Ellen’s Service career she has gained an array of military qualifications, including Equality and Diversity Advisor, Workplace Risk Assessor, and Managing and Leading Lean. As far as civilian qualifications are concerned, she says ‘I joined the Navy with no qualifications but soon realised that if I wanted to progress my career I needed to gain some GCSEs. After that, I got the bug for studying and gained the majority of my other qualifications through self-study.’ Hence the list of civilian qualifications she has obtained, to date, during her Service career is a long one:

 

‘I actually sat my AS Psychology exam’, she says, ‘while on detachment in Finland, and the Physics exam in Naval Base Point Magu, California!’ She is currently studying for ILM level 5 in Coaching and Management, and has applied to use SLC funding for this qualification.

In June 2003, she had a job teaching Sea Harrier Weapons, which was when she discovered her liking for instructing: ‘I wanted to encourage others to undertake learning, and to give back something that I had taken on my journey through lifelong learning, so I began teaching O level Commerce at the Education Centre. It really does make you feel as though you have achieved something. My students achieved a 100% pass rate, which spurred me on to gain a teaching qualification. The Education Centre funded my stage 1 qualification and I used ELC to fund the second stage.’

She welcomed the advice from her education advisor ‘to ensure my PDR is up to date before applying for funding’ and, as a result of using ELC for a second time, has since also gained CertEd (part-time – one evening a week, with assignments and teaching practice) and an HNC in Aeronautical Engineering (as mentioned above), which was done via distance learning and built on the engineering qualifications she already held. She says, ‘I plan to use my third for a BA (Hons) in Engineering and Management through the Learning at Work degree, with the University of Portsmouth Partnership Programme.’ Her aim is, eventually, to be able to teach aircraft engineering as a civilian. The qualifications she has already gained have also helped her military career in that she now possesses ‘the skills to effect change in my department’.

Her advice to other Service people registering for or using ELC is that ‘It is the best way to gain a high-level qualification. It motivates you to complete the course as you feel as though you don’t want to waste the opportunity.’ She adds, ‘I would recommend to anyone to undertake studying, and to make full use of their ELC and SLC entitlements. There is no feeling like racking up academic achievements. It makes you feel as though you have fully utilised your spare time, especially while being deployed.’

When asked how reading Courses4Forces has helped her, she comments, ‘The magazine is very informative and gives the reader a better understanding of how they can use their funding, whether it is ELC, SLC or resettlement. Even though I am not due to leave the RN yet, I look in the magazine to see what courses are available, to give me an idea of what I might like to do as a second career.’

Who would argue with her comment that ‘I really am taking lifelong learning to the nth degree!’

I would recommend to anyone to undertake studying and to make full use of their ELC and SLC entitlements. There is no feeling like racking up academic achievements
 

 

 

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