Examination of Witnesses (Questions 700
- 702)
WEDNESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2000
MAJOR GENERAL
ANTHONY PALMER
CBE, REAR ADMIRAL
JOHN CHADWICK
AND AIR
VICE-MARSHAL
IAN CORBITT
Mr Cann
700. My background is local government. Every
year when all of the departments put before me their budgets I
immediately slashed away at the building costs, administration
costs and training. Is that happening to you? Secondly, is it
happening to you to an extent to which you find yourselves unable
to train people towards the very high grades for the jobs they
have to do nowadays?
(Air Vice-Marshal Corbitt) I think the basis there
is that the processes that are now being put in place under the
short term planning process are such that we use the word "customers".
Some people in the military do not like the word "customers",
but in essence there are "customers" of the training
agencies. It is incumbent upon us to have appropriate customer
supply agreements in place with the employers of our output where
they will specify the standard of training that they require from
the training agency, the number of people they require and when
they require them. It is the timeliness, the quality and quantity
of the output. We are putting those in place and making sure that
they are then adequately resourced. We are starting from the base
line we currently have, which is what we are resourced to deliver
to the front line. If thereafter there is any change required
by the front line, if they wish to increase the volume of training
or increase the quality of training that we are delivering, then
the process now is through the customer supply agreement. They
will specify that change, we will determine the resource implications
of that, and it is their responsibility then to fund that change.
701. It is their responsibility to fund it.
Have you got the personnel to deliver it?
(Air Vice-Marshal Corbitt) That would be part of the
resource allocation that we would look into to see if we have
sufficient resources to allocate. If not, we would then bid for
increased resources as part of their increased funding.
Mr Viggers
702. General, to end on a happy note, to be
a fast jet pilot is the most glamorous and exciting thing you
can possibly do bar none. How can we possibly be short of fast
jet pilots? I am aware there is a problem in terms of the length
of training and retention, but how can it be that we are short
of fast jet pilots and riding towards an even greater shortage?
What can we do about it?
(Air Vice-Marshal Corbitt) Obviously the training
side is my particular area. I have got some expertise in the issue
of the training of pilots and the number of pilots we have in
the Air Force. The numbers that we have been pushing through the
training system over the last ten years, the numbers delivered,
have fallen short for many different reasons, some internal, some
external. Those are all being addressed or have been addressed.
I would like to say, touch wood, we may well be producing the
required number of fast jet pilots through the training system
this year for the first time for some significant time. The lack
of numbers coming through the system has contributed to it. The
other end of the scale is the operational side and that is more
for the front line command and for the manning agency to determine.
It is the pattern of operations that they have been conducting,
the way of life that they have been asked to live over the last
ten years since we have been going into these peacekeeping and
peace support operations that has affected their image of what
life is like as a front line pilot. They are not necessarily getting
the demanding flying that they would like to see. The old Cold
War environment where they used to fly low level, very demanding,
is not being done when you are flying in Iraq as a medium level
package. Therefore the flying is less demanding. More time is
being spent away from home and at the same time they see the glamour
of the civil airlines recruiting, and civil airlines always recruit
at high levels when the economy is improving. We have gone through
probably a longer period of sustained growth for many years. The
airlines continue to recruit. The individual sees it as attractive
to go outside once they have completed their initial commitment
and it is very difficult to stop them going. It is a combination
of factors.
Chairman: Thank you very much. We have
a few questions we do not have time to ask, again on pilots, the
Learning Forces Initiative and transferable qualifications. If
you do not mind we will drop you a note. Thank you, gentlemen,
for coming in. It was very helpful.
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