The British Army visited Middlesbrough College earlier in the week, giving those students seeking a challenge, adventure or training either in their spare-time or as a full-time career a chance can find out about a wide variety of paid opportunities on offer.
Students tested their skills on an Army climbing wall, took a selfies in a Mobile Recruiting Vehicle and a Foxhound armoured vehicle, and experienced a parachute jump through virtual reality headset technology. Local soldiers spoke to students and answered questions about their roles in the Army.
A range of local Army units got involved, including from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Royal Armoured Corp and Royal Artillery. Activites included The Royal Corps of Signals conducting encoding and decoding exercises, the Royal Military Police set up a mock crime scene and talked students through the different aspects of police investigations. The Army Catering unit demonstrated a fully working Army field kitchen to give people a sense of what it is like to be an Army chef.
Maj (Retd) Graeme Hynds, Army Senior Career Advisor for Middlesbrough, said:
“The Army provides people with a chance to belong to one of the most respected organisations in the world while enjoying the opportunities and challenges that the diverse range of roles can offer, be that through a career in the Regular Army or Army Reserves.
“Students will have the opportunity to meet the soldiers and ask any questions they may have about Army life, and about the roles they carry out.”
Did you know, with a career in the Army:
- You receive an annual salary of £31,232 after training plus pension as an Officer and £18,488 after training plus pension as a soldier.
- You receive 30 days annual holiday on top of all the usual bank holidays, and extra time off in lieu of operations.
- You have opportunities to travel overseas for operations, adventurous training, sport and peacekeeping from training in Kenya to supporting the UN in Cyprus or from sky-diving in Florida to mountaineering in the Himalayas.
- You have access to free gym and sports facilities, with world class fitness and nutritional advice.
- You gain skills and qualifications that are transferable to life after the Army.
- Any medical procedures you require is paid for by the Army and is carried out by fully qualified Army personnel or private practices where necessary.
- You have a clear promotion structure to follow. Each successive rank brings extra responsibilities, duties and respect, and an increase in pay.
As a soldier you will be:
- trained as an apprentice with a choice of 40 different schemes, from engineering to animal care.
- offered over 500 different qualifications, from GCSE to degrees, including all kinds of professional and practical qualifications in areas such as chartered engineering and accountancy that will build up your CV.
To find out further information about joining the Army Reserves or Regular Army visit your local Army Careers Centre, where one of our careers advisers will be happy to answer any questions about joining, either as a Reservist or Regular Solider.