23 Year old English graduate looking for a way in!

[Steve]

Steve, I think I remember reading somewhere that the RFA were moving away from using AIB, any truth in that?

You probably read it in something I wrote, and AFAIK it is still a rumour, not concrete.

[Clanky]

Cheers, so it's still on the cards then?

[Steve]

Cheers, so it's still on the cards then?

It can take a while for the wheels to turn, so the lack of any change so far doesn't mean it isn't coming. RFA recruitment is having a bit of a shake-up in the near future in an attempt to deal with shortages in key branches, but it's retention that they need to get sorted more urgently. I can't see what good throwing gold braid at recruitment might achieve, which is about all the plans I've heard of amount to.

[jacob44]

I messaged someone on Rum Ration about AIB. They attended in late February. This is their great reply:

The run time is 11:09. But on of the girls on my board did it in 14:00+ and still passed, so its all about effort.
The Psychometric tests are all fairly easy, its the time constraint in which you have to do them. the General Knowledge is split into four equal parts: RN, RFA, FAA and RM. You need to know things such as: Weapons on all the ships, roles of each Royal Navy and Fleet Auxilary ship, Aircraft role, (We re going to be using the F-35B, thats one of the ones I got wrong!).
Revision is key, its hard, but most of the maths and English questions can be practiced. The Essay is now typed, but I found this easier as my spelling is awful and you can just use spell check! I guess you could say theres three stages you need to do for a good grade; REVISION, PRACTICE, MORE REVISION. Theres lots of places to download practice questions. The hardest thing to revise for (personal opinion here) is the abstract reasoning. Make sure you google some harder tests as the practice questions supplied are far too easy.
The Practical Leadership Tasks are all fairly easy. You'll be taught the techniques the day before so you just need to keep them in your head. A helpful hint is that candidates 1 + 3 always get a wet task, and 2 + 4 get a dry one. There are certain techniques for wet and dry, so make sure you revise those relevant to your task, as thats your time to shine! Saying that, you should also have a good idea of the others as you will be judged on your team work and suggestions with other leaders. No one on my board finished the task but as long as you have a solid plan you should be fine. The key here is DRAMA. Over act EVERYTHING, you might have a really good plan in your head but if the board can't see what you're doing they will not be able to award marks. POINT, ENCOURAGE and ASSURE, be loud, but don't yell, make sure you encourage your team constantly (literally every few seconds). Even minor actions should be met with "good effort" or "well done". The board don't like to see 'please' and 'thank you's, but this doesn't mean you have to be rude. Be direct, keep a cool head and don't panic. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your team. At the same time, I received a good few marks for helping a team member when her plan went tits up.

Its a board of three officers, at least one of which will be RFA. They are all really friendly and they want you to show them what they're looking for. The board will each take 8-10 minutes questioning you. The RFA officer will ask about your chosen career path, make sure you know all about progression and the certificates you are going to earn. Learn all of their names and what qualifications they will lead to. You should also have a good idea of what will happen at Dartmouth and how your college time is divided. He'll then ask you to walk to a map and point out some deployments or were some ships are based and what they are doing. Best bet for this is the RN site or Navy News. Then for his last bit he'll ask you to identify some ships on the walls. This is a good chance to show off a bit. They ask you some bits about what the ships do and what they carry. I got HMS Albion, RFA Wave Ruler, and RFA Argus. I was able to tell them exactly how much liquid Wave Ruler carried (its 16,000m3 ) and talk about the reverse Osmosis machine onboard (which can generate 100m3 of fresh water a day). Facts that they wont suspect are killer point earners, after all you're trying to impress them with your knowledge, so throw in as much as you know until they tell you to shut up.
Another officer will then question your values. So question like: "Have you ever been scared? And how did you react?" or "Have you ever had to stand up for what you believe is morally right?" Its competency based, so look for answers that will make you look good! Mostly its based around your application form examples, but they may ask you to expand on them.
The final few minutes is all about leadership quantities. Again, its all about your application form, with a few others thrown in. Just keep calm and speak clearly and you'll be fine.

There were three boards, mine was all RFA. There was another RFA board. And then there was a board with one RFA and two RN candidates (both of the RN candidates were serving aswell.)
Pass rates are hard. My board had a 75% pass rate, but both the others had 0%, so take what you will from that.
Personally I think its all about bonding. Make sure you spend loads of time with your team talking about the AIB and the fleet in general. You'll pick-up loads of information as well as helping other people.

3 other points.
1.) Go down the pub both nights and have a steak (medium rare). The food at HMS Sultan is good, but steak is always better.
2.) Learn to do Speed, Distance and Time questions in my head.
3.) If you pass, pass this info on to help other people!

[Blondie]

I'm a phase one Deck cadet with the RFA, older, already have a degree and don't have A-level maths. Reading your posts and having met FD Engineering cadets, don't worry about not having A-level maths. Of course, it makes the course easier but the college devotes a lot of time to maths and will make sure you have the necessary skill level for nautical engineering.

As far as I know AIB has been sneakily dropped for qualified Officers but it's still there for potential officer cadets.

This blog post should summarise the application process for you:

http://manchesterwelsh.com/rfa-cadetships-the-application-process/

[Stillstayingjohnson]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Sorry about the slow reply. I've been busy at work this week. Have received an email asking if I would like to be considered for this academic year! (Obviously subject to me nailing an interview) Which is exciting/nerve wracking stuff. I've also got an RFA app to fill out but I would like to see if I could get on board in Falmouth first to gain some first hand (non web based) insight into that side of the MN.

The kraken: your second paragraph has definitely decreased my stress level thank you.

Size4riggerboots: thank you for the links. I just picked up the introduction to marine engineering for some light reading alongside he blogs.

Cheers guys!

[Stillstayingjohnson]

I'm a phase one Deck cadet with the RFA, older, already have a degree and don't have A-level maths. Reading your posts and having met FD Engineering cadets, don't worry about not having A-level maths. Of course, it makes the course easier but the college devotes a lot of time to maths and will make sure you have the necessary skill level for nautical engineering.

This is great help. I was worried that there might not be much help, hence my desire to proceed with independent studying of an A level.

Also, Steve: thanks for the tip on expected interview research!

[Blondie]

It is worth noting however, that you will have to put in some self-study time with the maths at college - the tutors can't do it all for you. Fleetwood (where the RFA currently send their Deck and Engineering cadets) runs drop in clinics 1800-2100 every week night, it's a pretty good system.

[agibbs98]

To further help you understand the level of maths required for an engineer... I've completed all my academics and am now completing my cadetship... not one subject required maths more advanced than GCSE B grade level (higher paper maths exam stuff). Your first phase will include Mathematics for Seafarers which is revision of basic GCSE Maths too.

[Clanky]

To further help you understand the level of maths required for an engineer... I've completed all my academics and am now completing my cadetship... not one subject required maths more advanced than GCSE B grade level (higher paper maths exam stuff). Your first phase will include Mathematics for Seafarers which is revision of basic GCSE Maths too.

Really?

When I did my HND (20 years ago) we were doing A-level standard maths and above.

[agibbs98]

Really?

When I did my HND (20 years ago) we were doing A-level standard maths and above.

Really, haha. You'd be surprised at the level of stuff we're learning today, having spoken to quite a few old timers (no offence, I respect you all) it was tonnes harder years ago.

[chris]

The fd engineering scheme is defitely A-Level standard, matrices, idfferential equations, Laplace transformations and a little Fourier series.