Hi everyone. Not sure if this is the right place to be asking this question, but I've looked through the various communities and I couldn't see anything in the way of bringing together engineers who are either serving or who have left the forces. I've been out the army ten years now, but when I look back on it there was very little instilled in the way of professional development during my time in the forces. I think the army I served in was very backwards in that respect, and it would be interesting to know how or if it had changed, and I'd be interested to know if anyone thinks that this is the sort of community that would add value to the IET. I think if I'd had better opportunities for guidance in a professional sense I'd have really benefitted.
I agree with what you say about personal development being very structured in the forces. It took me a long time to realise that civilian life wasn't like that, and nobody was mapping out your career path in front of you. At the same time, there will no doubt still be people in the forces who never get on because their face doesn't fit, and as such maybe promoting the benefits of an institution like the IET at an early stage of their career would be an advantage to their long term career. Obviously you're going to be capped at EngTech unless you're in a position of some seniority, but would people be more inclined to look at topping up to an HNC, HND, or degree if there was an active community of like-minded people?
I see there's a forces structure in the IET, thanks for the link, but how proactive is it? Is it showing people the benefits of being in the IET, or is it just fishing for people who already know? I see quite a few people from my old cap badge with EngTech qualifications from the InstRE, but that was unheard of when I was serving. It would be interesting to know how much of that is a box-ticking exercise because it's mapped against the career stream.
Would all-ranks engagement in any sort of community work or would there be too much of an 'us and them' barrier? Are the forces still stuck in the trap of thinking that the best soldiers/sailors/airmen are automatically the best engineers, and not developing people in the right way? It would be interesting to hear thoughts on that.
I agree with what you say about personal development being very structured in the forces. It took me a long time to realise that civilian life wasn't like that, and nobody was mapping out your career path in front of you. At the same time, there will no doubt still be people in the forces who never get on because their face doesn't fit, and as such maybe promoting the benefits of an institution like the IET at an early stage of their career would be an advantage to their long term career. Obviously you're going to be capped at EngTech unless you're in a position of some seniority, but would people be more inclined to look at topping up to an HNC, HND, or degree if there was an active community of like-minded people?
I see there's a forces structure in the IET, thanks for the link, but how proactive is it? Is it showing people the benefits of being in the IET, or is it just fishing for people who already know? I see quite a few people from my old cap badge with EngTech qualifications from the InstRE, but that was unheard of when I was serving. It would be interesting to know how much of that is a box-ticking exercise because it's mapped against the career stream.
Would all-ranks engagement in any sort of community work or would there be too much of an 'us and them' barrier? Are the forces still stuck in the trap of thinking that the best soldiers/sailors/airmen are automatically the best engineers, and not developing people in the right way? It would be interesting to hear thoughts on that.
