§ 46. Sir J. Edenasked the Secretary of State for Air if he will give figures for the latest convenient period to show the progress in recruiting for the Royal Air Force; and what success he is having in encouraging school leavers to take up a career in the service.
§ Mr. H. FraserYes. Recruiting has been satisfactory and we have broadly met our requirements. We have obtained nearly all the officers we needed and in most ground trades we have had many more applications than vacancies. In the first 10 months of 1963 we recruited direct from civil life 1,037 men and 1,267 women on initial engagements. In addition, we recruited 672 apprentices and 1,666 boy entrants and awarded 185 cadetships.
The success we are having in attracting school leavers is illustrated by the figures for cadets, apprentices and boy entrants.