§ Mr. John Hallasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what help he gives to men and women serving in the Royal Navy who wish to obtain professional qualifications; and what proposals he has for increasing such help.
§ Mr. C. Ian Orr-EwingThe chief ways in which this help is given are: by active encouragement and tuition from Instructor Officers; by providing a wide82W range of correspondence courses paid for partly or entirely from Navy Votes; by arranging Service courses, wherever possible, so that they meet the requirements of professional bodies as well as the needs of the Service; by seeking the co-operation of professional bodies in granting exemption from their examinations to those who hold appropriate Service qualifications; and by arranging for examinations for professional qualifications to be conducted in Her Majesty's ships and naval establishments.
We are constantly seeking ways of increasing this help and have recently arranged that any rating who takes the examination to qualify him educationally for promotion to officer rank can at the same time obtain passes at the ordinary level in the General Certificate of Education. We are also working on a scheme designed to ensure that in future most technical officers will obtain a degree in engineering in the course of their training.