PROMOTIONS |
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RATINGS/OTHER RANKS PROMOTION
Promotion is one of the ways the Armed Forces fills vacancies and rewards those who have shown strong performance and potential. Rules and procedure vary according to service, rank and employment, but in principle the process is as follows:
Consideration - Service personnel are considered at least once every year for promotion to the next rank in their career structure. Occasionally they may be considered more than once if their trade has a high number of vacancies.
Eligibility - To go any further in the process each Serviceman is judged against the eligibility rules for the next rank. Again the rules vary but will usually have some or all of the following parts:
Experience will be considered and may take into account; age, time spent in rank (seniority), the number and type of jobs that each individual has done, other activities, including sport and adventurous training, that show the wider abilities of the individual. The annual appraisal is critical for recording this information.
Military Training - as part of the consideration for promotion, individual abilities in military skills, command and leadership will be taken into account. Promotion boards will consider what is written in the annual appraisal and in some cases there may be specific courses required.
Technical Training - it is also important that the individual has reached the appropriate level in their professional development and this criteria usually sets out the trade standard that has to be reached. For higher ranks there may be a need to attend other technical training.
Education - there is a requirement for specific courses of education to be completed at certain stages during their service career usually before they can be promoted to the next rank.
Recommendation in Annual Appraisal - it is essential that the individual receives a recommendation from their reporting officer when the annual appraisal is written. This recommendation states that, in the opinion of the person writing the report that the serviceman is ready to be promoted. This is a critical opinion for the serviceman to go further in the evaluation process.
Selection - All those who are eligible are then graded for their suitability for the next rank by a specially selected group of people called a promotion board. The boards grade each candidate on their recent performance as reported in their annual appraisal, and then produce a list in merit order.
Numbers Selected - The number of people selected for promotion is based on:
Any increases or decreases in the number of jobs available.
The number of people expected to be promoted.
The number of people known or expected to leave the Armed Forces.
The promotion board will then publish a list informing the appropriate service and the individual that they have been selected for promotion.
Appointment - In most cases the promotion will not happen immediately. Those selected must wait until a suitable job is available to promote them into, usually in the year following their selection.
Promotion at Other Times - Sometimes the number of jobs in the higher rank that become available are greater than the number of people selected for promotion. In these cases one of the following will happen:
The order of merit will be reviewed and people who scored highly on the original board will be promoted.
If there are enough vacancies a second promotion board may be held.
The post may be filled by someone holding temporary rank or given additional pay.
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