Our adult staff are the life blood of our organisation, the cadets would not be able to benefit from the huge range of activities available to them if adult volunteers didn't give up their time to staff and supervise squadrons and activities. In order to ensure that our adult volunteers are best equipped to fulfill the role to which they have been appointed and that they gain useful qualifications in reward for the time they commit the Wing and the Corps offer a number of training courses and qualifications to its adult volunteers.

Adult Training Facility (ATF)

ATF is located at RAF College is Cranwell is tasked with providing training to the Air Cadet Organiation's uniformed adult staff. It runs the following courses:

• Officers’ Senior Courses (OSC)
• Officers’ Initial Courses (OIC)
• CCF Officers’ Initial Courses (CCF OIC)
• Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Staff Initial Course (SSIC)
• Senior Non-Commissioned Staff Drill Instructors' Course (SSDIC)

West Mercian Wing Pre-ATF Course

In order for our adult volunteers to gain the most from their visit to ATF and to maximise their chances of successfully passing their course West Mercian Wing runs an annual Pre-ATF course for uniform personnel attending ATF in the following 12-months. The weekend course introduces drill, standards of dress and deportment, leadership, techniques of instruction, conduct in a service mess and is designed to allow the staff attending to highlight any areas of weakness they may have so they can seek further training before going to ATF.

Qualifications

It is now possible for our uniform adult personnel to gain qualifications in recognition of their efforts with the ATC. The first of these is available to officers who have successfully completed their Officer's Initial Course and is an Introductory Certificate in First Line Management (ILM), a vocational level 3 qualification.

The Licentiateship in Youth Leadership and Training is available to uniformed personnel who have been in post for five years or longer and completed their Officer's Initial Course and Officer's Senior Course or their NCO Staff Initial Course. It is level 4 vocational qualification and will entitle successful candidates to use the post nominals LCGI.

Wing Staff Officers (WSO) who have been in post for one year or more and have completed at least twelve years uniformed service can enroll on a Graduateship in Youth Management and Training, a level 6 vocational qualification and successful candidates will be eligible to use the post nominal letters GCGI