First of all you need to make contact with your local Squadron. The easiest way to do this is to give us a call on a parade night or drop us an e-mail.
We will invite you to the Squadron on a parade night to speak with the Commanding Officer and other members of staff. Don’t worry – this won’t be a grueling panel interview! This is so we can get an idea of what kind of person you are and what your aspirations within the ATC are. We will also give you a tour of the Headquarters so you can see the facilities and equipment we have.
The next step is to complete the official application forms which we will then return to Headquarters Air Cadets. These have multiple parts for you to complete covering your personal details, history and qualifications. We will also require details of two character references as part of your application.
Safety of the young people under our care is paramount. As part of the application process you will undergo a background search via the Disclosure Scotland Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG). This has to be conducted at Wing Headquarters in Paisley so we will help you organize an appointment during normal business hours to complete this.
It normally takes 6-8 weeks to receive your PVG certification. Once you have your certificate you are free to join the Squadron. New instructors spend 3 months on probation before they are granted full Civilian Instructor status from HQ Air Cadets.