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Air Steward/Steward

Posted By: RAF - Manchester
Address:
- 29-31 Petersfield House
- Peter Street
- Manchester
- M2 5QJ
Contact: 0161 832 5822
Date Posted: 5th Jan 2009
Salary: We offer a competitive wage and benefits package. See www.rafcareers.com for more information.
Location: Other
Reference Code:
Views Since Posting: 68
Full Description:

Run dining rooms, bars and reception areas, work for senior RAF personnel or alongside chefs on deployed sites providing food and beverages. Air stewards are responsible for the service of in-flight meals and safety on a variety of military aircraft.

Your work

Overview

Stewards work within dining rooms, bars and reception areas in Officers’ and Sergeants’ Messes. Trained in silver service, you’ll serve food and drinks to hotel and club standards, making sure that your customers have everything they need. You’ll also be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Mess, including reception work, looking after accommodation, and bar and cellar management.
You’ll also organise VIP functions, where you’ll do everything from menu planning, booking of entertainment and accommodating guests, to ensuring that all food safety checks have been carried out and staff are fully briefed and supervised, including civilian staff.
Like most people in the RAF, you’ll probably move jobs every few years, and each job is known as a tour. As well as working in the dining rooms and bars of RAF bases, stewards can carry out VIP personal staff duties in senior officers’ homes, or work in the field as part of the Mobile Catering Support Unit – one of the spearhead units for UK forces, which sets up catering facilities for operations or exercises before other troops arrive. Additionally, many RAF stewards work in the field on exercises with their home units and some undertake short detachments afloat with the Royal Navy.
After appropriate training, and if recommended, you can work as an Air Steward, where you’ll get the chance to work on a variety of military aircraft. You’ll organise the catering for the crew and passengers – who could be troops, families or VIP personnel – and be responsible for in-flight safety procedures. On aeromedical flights, you’ll work with medics to ensure the safe transportation of ill or injured personnel. .

Your first tour

For your first tour, you’ll usually be posted to an Officers’ or Sergeants’ Mess on an RAF base, where you’ll gain experience in the dining room, bar and reception areas. It’s your first experience of life on base and a chance to understand how the RAF community works. Within your first few years, you may be detached overseas for anything from a few weeks to a few months
Steward/Air Steward 219B 1

Your training

Recruit training
Your career will start with nine weeks of recruit training at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire. The course is designed to help you adjust to a military environment. As well as fitness and military training, you’ll also learn about the RAF lifestyle.

Specialist training
The next step is a two-month specialist training course at RAF Halton, where you’ll learn about serving food and drinks, cellar and reception work and how to run a bar and dining room. You’ll also have a five-day introduction to deployed catering at the Mobile Catering Support Unit at RAF Wittering near Peterborough, where you’ll learn how to provide food and drinks under canvas with limited facilities. At the end of the course, you’ll have gained an NVQ Level 2 in Catering and Hospitality (Food and Beverage Service) and you’ll be on your way to earning an Apprenticeship in Hospitality. You’ll also get your first posting.
You may be eligible for fast-track promotion if you already have catering qualifications and one year’s experience in the hospitality industry. If selected for this course, and after recruit training at RAF Halton, you’ll stay there for a five-week course to familiarize yourself with military catering. You’ll then qualify for immediate promotion to Senior Aircraftman/woman and will get your first assignment.

Ongoing development
As your career progresses, we’ll continue to train you in new skills, including management and leadership. If you’re subsequently posted as an Air Steward, you’ll be trained in aircraft safety procedures, cabin service and in-flight catering. You will not be employed on these duties during your first tour - you’ll have to prove your ability on the ground first. You’ll have the opportunity to complete courses in food hygiene, catering instruction and specialist catering skills. You’ll also receive regular training in deployed catering skills.

Your future Prospects

You’ll initially join the RAF for a period of nine years. If you’ve joined without qualifications, after a year you’ll be eligible for promotion to Senior Aircraftman/woman if you pass a trade ability test. Further promotion to the rank of Corporal and beyond is by competitive selection.

Transferable skills

The NVQ and Apprenticeship you can earn are as valuable in the civilian world as they are in the RAF – which means that whenever you decide to leave the RAF, you’ll be well placed to find a job in the hospitality industry or as an air steward for a commercial company.

Entry qualifications

Age limits
16–29
Steward/Air Steward 219B 2
Academic qualifications
GCSE/SCEs at Grade G/6 in English language and maths.

Entry test
You must pass a test at the AFCO.

Nationality
You must have been a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland since birth.

Residency
Whether or not you were born in the United Kingdom, you should normally have resided there for the three years immediately preceding your application.

Equal opportunities
The RAF values every individual’s unique contribution, irrespective of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or social background.

This information was correct when published in October 2007, but may have changed since.

If you have any queries, please check with RAF staff at any Armed Forces Careers Office.

RAF careers could be based anywhere in the UK, please ensure you are fully aware before applying - are you up for the Challenge?