RFA Recruiting Qualified Officers

[YoungMariner]

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/Careers/Royal-Fleet-Auxiliary

CURRENT VACANCIES

With immediate effect we are opening up recruitment for Third Officer Systems Engineer Officers and Systems Engineer Cadets to join the RFA with the first intake in September 2013.

Details of these positions can be found at the links below and in the careers section of the website.

Systems Engineer Officer Cadet

Systems Engineer Officer

There are also positions available for Deck Officer Cadets, Qualified Deck Officers, Marine Engineer Officer Cadets and Qualified Marine Engineer Officers with further details available at the links here:

Deck Officer Cadet

Deck Officer

Marine Engineer Officer Cadet

Marine Engineer Officer

[bobofinga]

Interesting with all the government cuts they seem to be on a recruitment drive.

[bobofinga]

Just out of sheer interest and curiosity , how different is the RFA compared with your standard merchant navy ships (tankers/containers/cruises) ?

?30k a year for 4 on 3 off is not a bad starting wage at all for a newly qualified officer. You pay tax on that tho im sure?

[moose]

Just out of sheer interest and curiosity , how different is the RFA compared with your standard merchant navy ships (tankers/containers/cruises) ?

?30k a year for 4 on 3 off is not a bad starting wage at all for a newly qualified officer. You pay tax on that tho im sure?

the difference is that you spend most of your time in drydock for refit or repairs! There's 2 RFA ships in at Birkenhead at the moment and a few down south too. One of the lads I know was stuck on ship for four months while it was being refitted.

[Steve]

Interesting with all the government cuts they seem to be on a recruitment drive.

I've mentioned elsewhere that the RFA would soon be recruiting qualified officers, and the reasons why. There is a huge retention problem and they are running out of officers to crew ships.

Just out of sheer interest and curiosity , how different is the RFA compared with your standard merchant navy ships (tankers/containers/cruises) ?

?30k a year for 4 on 3 off is not a bad starting wage at all for a newly qualified officer. You pay tax on that tho im sure?

Very different. It's paramilitary. Compared to most merchant ships, RFAs do a lot more whilst at sea and spend a lot more time in port.

You may or may not get your tax back. Can't count on it.

[bobofinga]

Might look into it , fancy a change. Would be great experience I'd imagine as well.

[Steve]

the difference is that you spend most of your time in drydock for refit or repairs!

Definitely not most! 6 month refits every 2.5 years is the norm. Living in a 4* hotel, dining out every night and going home for the weekend at least once a fortnight is such a pain though. There are two at Brokenhead right now, and ONE in refit at Falmouth.

[bobofinga]

Most of their ships are very dated are they not? Are they not due getting some new tankers from outside UK tho ? sure I read somewhere.

[Steve]

Most of their ships are very dated are they not? Are they not due getting some new tankers from outside UK tho ? sure I read somewhere.

Four new tankers being built in Korea, to replace the three oldest tankers in the current fleet.

The oldest ships currently in service were built in the 70s (two Rover class small fleet tankers), the newest in the mid-late 2000s (Bay class landing ships). They have invested quite a bit in upgrading accommodation and other aspects of the older ships.

[moose]

They play an interesting role in the Royal Navy and for the world's Navy's. I visited RFA Diligence while it was in wetdock a few months back. A lot of work going on in the ECR with new systems being put in and tested. The crew were put up in a nice hotel down the road, world's away from the cultural heights of Birkenhead (it really is a dump).

Feel sorry for whoever gets stuck there.

Certain ships in the fleet will be kept onto due to their roles in certain areas of the RN and due to the cost of replacing them. Is there not a RAS tanker that can only operate in UK coastal waters due to the single hull design?

[Steve]

Certain ships in the fleet will be kept onto due to their roles in certain areas of the RN and due to the cost of replacing them. Is there not a RAS tanker that can only operate in UK coastal waters due to the single hull design?

The MoD does not approve of any hotels in Birkenhead itself. The nearest one on the Wirral is at Bromborough.

Orangeleaf is not restricted to UK coastal waters, but she is a little decrepit and not very welcome in the Caribbean or Persian Gulf, so it makes sense to keep her permanently on the FOST tanker task based out of Plymouth until her replacement enters service. The two Rovers (which alternate in the South Atlantic) and Fort Victoria (currently operating in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean) are also single hulled tankers.

[chris]

As a soon to be qualified 3rd systems engineer, do the RFA use temporary contract staff and if so which agency do they use?

[moose]

The MoD does not approve of any hotels in Birkenhead itself. The nearest one on the Wirral is at Bromborough.

MoD do approve of the shady watering hole across the road from 'Lairds'! What a hovel. You weren't on Diligence while in refit were you?

[Lewis]

Do you get a cool uniform? Officer and a gentleman style :P
On a more serious note how does the RFA compare to working in a run of the mill shipping company. I read the job spec on their page but forces recruitment types aren't know for their honesty. So what's the pros and cons of the RFA?

[waverider]

Can anybody shed some light on work with the RFA and the work you would carry out if in dry dock as a third officer?
I am interested in joining and any information would be greatly appreciated.
(If you're allowed to divulge the information....)