Activities & Qualifications
A chance to try something new and different
As an adult volunteer in the Army Cadet Force you will have the opportunity to take part in, learn, supervise and organise an enormous range of activities.
During their time in the ACF, cadets work toward the Army Proficiency Certificate which has five progressive levels of difficulty and covers a broad range of topics from personal standards and team tactics, to map reading and community work, fieldcraft and weapons handling. As an adult volunteer you will be helping guide cadets through the APC syllabus to the best of each individual’s abilities. If that sounds daunting, don’t panic! You will be part of a team of people who all have different gifts, skills, qualifications and experience.
We will start by teaching you how to train the cadets and there will be further induction training over your first couple of years, after which you can choose to undergo additional training in areas that you might want to specialise in. Many of our activities and training courses lead to nationally recognised qualifications of real value in your life outside cadets. The training is either free or heavily subsidised.
You can gain specialist qualifications in many of the subjects we teach the cadets. Here are just a few examples:
- Adventurous Training Our centre of excellence, the Cadet Centre for Adventurous Training, at Capel Curig in Wales, exists to ensure we have enough qualified instructors to offer our cadets a full range of adventurous training opportunities. Both senior cadets (aged 16+) and adults can take courses in mountaineering (summer, winter, alpine), canoeing (kayak, canoe, sea), caving, climbing (rock and winter), mountain biking and skiing. All courses result in fully accredited National Governing Body qualifications. Our costs are kept as low as possible and certainly well below the cost of getting such training from a commercial provider.
- Expeditions The Expedition Leadership Management workshop covers issues involved in organising expeditions to far-flung destinations, such as visa applications, respecting local customs and even acclimatising to altitude.
- Sports The Sports Leaders UK Level 2 Award in Community Sports Leadership provides the ideal foundation for those wishing to lead groups in sporting and recreational activities and is widely used by those employed in education, youth work, and recreation.
- First Aid The First Aid at Work HSE-approved course covers the practical skills needed by a first aider in the modern workplace and provides the confidence and knowledge to deal with first aid emergencies.
- The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is recognised the world over as a leading development programme for young people and the Army Cadet Force is one of its largest operating authorities in the United Kingdom. It is open to young people aged 14-25 and over 2,000 members of the ACF complete one of its Awards each year.
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Public Relations The Army Cadet Force PR Training Team exists to train adult members of the ACF in public relations and promotional skills, to help them draw attention to the cadets’ activities in the local community. As well as introductory and development courses, the Team also runs a series of specialist courses in event management; writing for the web, blogs and social media; digital photography; using new media; using video; broadcast interview training and audio blogging; and newsletter and marketing writiing, design and production.