UK Army Educational Standards

[garb811]

OK, just read the following in a platform piece on saving the Scottish Regiments at The Scotsman wherein the writer makes the following statement:

No longer would 70 per cent of infantry recruits at Catterick have a reading age of 11 or less (as noted in recent Ministry of Defence report).

I'm sorry, although the writer cites a MoD report, these numbers seem a little out of whack and do a pretty good job of perpetuating the stereotype of the uneducated Infantryman.   Checking the UK Recruiting website it indicates there aren't any formal educational requirements for entry into infantry but still...is it that bad??   I've been able to dig up a MOD report here which states:

The RAF and, to a lesser extent, the RN normally recruit individuals with at least GCSE/Key Skills qualifications. The Army also recruits among this group, but takes in large numbers at Basic Skills level or below, with few or no formal qualifications.

(Side note:   This report implies 18% don't pass their Infantry School but not details on reasons...)

According to the Department for Education and Skills:

There are no details for the UK as a whole. The figures for England are as follows:Up to 7 million adults in England have literacy skills below those expected of an average 11 year old. Even more have a problem with numeracy.

so it does appear the recruiting demographic exists to draw these folks from.

Granted, most of my interaction with UK forces has been with RMP but the times I have been around their Infantry, I haven't noticed anything which would indicate most at the entry level can only read and write at a Grade 5 level.   Then again, maybe my viewpoint is biased given the quality of recruits we generally get for our Infantry.

If anyone has any insight, I'd be most interested.

 

[MikeT1984]

British Infantry soldiers, as you have stated, require no formal qualifications.   This tends to draw in applicants from empoverished areas (yes we do have poverty), the reasons for this are:

Job security (not as secure as it has been, but still secure in comparison to the private sector)
Pay, British Army pay is good compared to what these people would expect to earn on the minimum wage
                    minumum wage is around £9,000 per year
                    private soldiers pay is around £13,500 per year
You don't really need any civilian skills to be an infantryman
Many have criminal or civil convictions, something the Army frowns upon less than a civ employer.



The stereotype of the uneducated infantryman though, is, in my opinion, true.

 

[garb811]

In this case, any idea if there is a point at which educational minimums become a requirement for promotion and if so, how is educational upgrading handled?

 

[winchable]

I know of one officer in the royal navy who has been a LT for a very long time and he attributes it to his lack of education.
He did his A-levels (or what their equivalent were at the time) and enrolled as an officer.
It is his own doing however as he has been offered the opportunity to pursue a degree on the ladies shilling and turned it down, so I don't feel terribly bad for him.
However from what I hear his story is not a complete anomaly.
From left field I know, but still and interesting point.

 

[Kirkhill]

In this case, any idea if there is a point at which educational minimums become a requirement for promotion and if so, how is educational upgrading handled?

Don't know if it still exists but at one point the British Army had an Education Corps whose purpose in life was to supply normal High School type educations to serving soldiers. 

 

[Acorn]

The Education Corps' raison d'etre was broader than raising the education level of recruits. A prof I had was an Edu Corps Sgt back in the late '50s who's National Service was teaching indigenous people in the Far East. In the non-PC way of the day he described his CO as saying "This is Sgt XXXX. We take them out of the jungle, lop their tails off, and he teaches them English."

Gotta love the colonial era.

Acorn

 

[winchable]

We take them out of the jungle, lop their tails off, and he teaches them English."

Don't want to get into Details but this is still an attitude that prevails.