Benefits of Joining
Becoming an Army Cadet has heaps of benefits. The most obvious being that you get to take part in loads of exciting and challenging activities such as fieldcraft, adventurous training, first aid, music, sports and shooting, to name but a few.
When you join as a cadet you will make lots of new friends and get the opportunity to go on annual camp where you will meet cadets from other detachments in your county. You may even get to go on expeditions to amazing places in the UK and sometimes even abroad.
The Army Proficiency Certificate (APC) training syllabus will teach you leadership skills, discipline and give you self-confidence you never thought possible. You will learn a wide range of transferable skills such as: the ability to command tasks; make decisions under pressure; plan and organise tasks and work as an effective team player as well as independently. These skills will equip you for life and add an extra string to your bow at times when competition for college places and employment is fierce.
Through your cadet training you can also gain valuable qualifications such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, BTEC First Diploma in Public Services or Music or the ILM Certificate in Team Leading.
A survey of cadets in 2010 gave some interesting results:
61% of cadets joined because they were attracted by the activities available
46% joined because they wanted to make new friends
68% think that being a cadet has helped/will help them get a job
97.9% of cadets said being a cadet had been important in giving them experience of team working
96.7% said it had been important in giving them experience of leadership
91% said it had been important in providing direction and guidance
88.8% said it had been important in giving them experience in confronting risk
91% agree that being in cadets makes them want to do well in life
90.8% agree that cadets has taught them to respect others
89.5% say cadets has given them a sense of community
78.5% agree that cadets has helped them stay out of trouble
71.1% agree that being in cadets helps them get on better with their family
93.1% feel confident and say the future looks promising
