The Problem with the Army apprentice school was multi-faceted. Firstly you recruited child soldiers, most without leaving certs. Then you put them through a military school system, requiring all the staff that that command structure brings when better and more relevant training could have been provided in civvy street instructors, on block release. You treated the apprentices like dirt for the duration of their apprenticeships, marked out as lowest of the low with the promise of a technical appointment at the completion of training. Then On completion of training, you change T&C so that the apprentice who started as a Trainee ERA or EA arrives in Haulbowline fully qualified only to be told "No EA or ERA vacancies, you'll be an A/Mech instead, no tech pay. By the way, you are on duty in the Engine Control room tonight. Also, we need you to rig up lights for when we go at anchor for the local regatta. By the way, my house needs to be rewired, when can you fit it in?/ My car needs new shocks, I have the parts, can you fit it when you get a chance.
No, there isn't any hope you will get tech pay as an EA/ERA, sure you aren't doing the job.
And so it went on, until the former apprentice notices he can get twice the money and half the abuse on Civvy street and won't have to pay for his own tools and PPE. He happily pays back the cost of his training to go as subby on a nearby building site/maintenance at a nearby Pharma plant where he recoups the cost of buying himself out from his first six months overtime.
Meanwhile a civvy spark/mechanic who didn't make it into the AAS, but managed to train up on his own time in FAS, applies for a DE EA/ERA competition, enters as a P/O ERA, in charge of the same former apprentices he would have trained with had he gone to AAS.
You may wish to blame the DoD, but many of what I mention above actually happened, and the DoD had nothing to do with it. The Air Corps treated their apprentices far better than the NS or the Army treated theirs, but most of the Army apprentices managed to get appointments that kept them working office hours in the various base workshops, and on graduation went to a unit relevant to their skillset, and weren't dumped into a Line unit "until a technical vacancy arose".
If these people had been treated properly, they would have been well suited to operating a Naval Specific apprentice school. But they left before most had 12 done. The best you can hope for is the current arrangement in NMCI, where willing participants take part in high quality technical training with the best of facilities, and return to their normal duties on completion of block release.
I have many friends who attended the AAS, many Navy, some Army. Everyone hated apprentices, and the Army apprentices (in majority) hated the Navy apprentices. This rivalry was encouraged by instructors. Most former AAS graduates find great delight knowing that not a brick of the AAS remains in place, except for the main gate.
It's dead. Leave it buried.
No, there isn't any hope you will get tech pay as an EA/ERA, sure you aren't doing the job.
And so it went on, until the former apprentice notices he can get twice the money and half the abuse on Civvy street and won't have to pay for his own tools and PPE. He happily pays back the cost of his training to go as subby on a nearby building site/maintenance at a nearby Pharma plant where he recoups the cost of buying himself out from his first six months overtime.
Meanwhile a civvy spark/mechanic who didn't make it into the AAS, but managed to train up on his own time in FAS, applies for a DE EA/ERA competition, enters as a P/O ERA, in charge of the same former apprentices he would have trained with had he gone to AAS.
You may wish to blame the DoD, but many of what I mention above actually happened, and the DoD had nothing to do with it. The Air Corps treated their apprentices far better than the NS or the Army treated theirs, but most of the Army apprentices managed to get appointments that kept them working office hours in the various base workshops, and on graduation went to a unit relevant to their skillset, and weren't dumped into a Line unit "until a technical vacancy arose".
If these people had been treated properly, they would have been well suited to operating a Naval Specific apprentice school. But they left before most had 12 done. The best you can hope for is the current arrangement in NMCI, where willing participants take part in high quality technical training with the best of facilities, and return to their normal duties on completion of block release.
I have many friends who attended the AAS, many Navy, some Army. Everyone hated apprentices, and the Army apprentices (in majority) hated the Navy apprentices. This rivalry was encouraged by instructors. Most former AAS graduates find great delight knowing that not a brick of the AAS remains in place, except for the main gate.
It's dead. Leave it buried.
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