Staff qualifications - the new rules

A few months ago all Wings and squadrons received amendment AL5 to ACP17 - the Air Cadet Publication that sets out the rules for adventure training in the ATC. The amendment includes some important changes to the qualifications that staff must have before regional approval can be granted for adventure training activities. For a summary of the qualifications required for different types of activity, click the changes

For canoeing, kayaking, climbing and abseiling the situation is very simple - if you don't have the appropriate assessed BCU or SPA qualification, you won't get approval to do it, so don't bother applying!

For walking the situation is more complicated. Until now, relatively few people have completed the assessment course required for a full ML, and most Wings and Regions have been prepared to authorise staff who have completed an ML training course to lead activities in mountain areas

Under the new rules, only people with a full ML will be permitted to lead activities in the mountains. For staff who have done ML training but not yet been assessed, there has been a long debate about exactly what they will be permitted to do. A procedure for allowing ML trained staff to operate in mountain areas after being registered as being "competent through experience" (CTE) now appears to have been dropped, although CTE will allow ML trained staff to run activities in non-mountainous terrain. 

We are waiting for final clarification from HQ Air Cadets of just what sort of terrain can be used by each level of staff qualification, and confirmation of the timescale for implementing the changes. Details will be posted here as soon as we have them

Wing Adventure Training Technical Officer: Flt Lt John Smith RAFVR(T)         Web site by: Flt Lt Geoff Bowles RAFVR(T)       Last updated  03 March 2002