§ Brigadier Lowasked the Minister of Defence how many months' training is required in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, respectively, before a man is so adequately trained that after 60 days' part-time service he may be counted on as a trained member of the Reserve; and whether this period has to 240W be increased, and by how much, when the trainee is engaged in occupational guard duties.
§ Mr. Alexander, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 26th March, 1947; Vol. 435, c. 1237], supplied the following Statement
While it would be impracticable to provide a complete list of the many hundreds of trades and duties in the three Services and the training period applicable to each, the following statement, in more general terms, can be made.
In the Royal Navy, the length of training required varies very considerably between the various rating categories. The average period of initial shore training, excluding artificer categories, may be taken as six months. This training provides sufficient grounding for the rating to be drafted to a seagoing ship or an air establishment to gain some practical experience and the further training necessary to enable him to qualify as a trained but not fully experienced rating. Although some 10 per cent. of the total entry may be regarded as sufficiently trained after one year's total service to enable them to be employed in full-time duties as part of a complement of a ship or air establishment, the great majority require 18 months to acquire the working experience without which basic training is of no practical value.
In the Army, the amount of training which a man must receive varies with the trade and the arm in which he serves. The period of basic training varies from 14 weeks to 33 weeks. After this period of basic training a man joins a unit of the arm to which he belongs, where his training continues along more specialised lines and where he gains the experience which is necessary as a background to that training. In general, it may be said that the man reaches the required standard after some 18 months' service.
So far as the Royal Air Force is concerned, the length of training in ground trades depends entirely on the trade to which the man is allocated. At present all N.S.A. entrants receive eight weeks' recruit (general service) training—this will later be increased to 13 weeks—followed by the training course for their particular trade, the length of which varies consider- 241W ably according to the trade. At the end of his period of full-time service the airman will be regarded as a fully trained member of the Reserve. The position of aircrew is, of course, different. For them the period of full-time service contemplated under the National Service Bill will be insufficient to enable them to attain full operational efficiency.