A group of 32 young people from Devon, Cornwall and further afield are set to visit HMS Raleigh over the next two week for work experience placements.
The Royal Navy training base in Torpoint is welcoming students aged between 14 and 18 for a week long programme.
Open to young people who have an interest in joining the Armed Forces, the programme is designed to give the students a taste of the opportunities available, the training and the chance to learn new skills.
Highlights of the week include the opportunity to experience some of the training undertaken by new recruits.
The students are given the chance to get out onto the river, test their marksmanship skills in Raleigh computerised indoor training range and undertake practical challenges such as marching and PT.
One of the students taking part this week is Lewis Brend, from South Molton. The 15-year-old said, “I’d like to be a Royal Navy Officer when I’m older, so I thought coming here would give me some experience. The shooting range and the active challenges have been the best parts of the week so far.
"I don’t know what I want to be in the Navy yet, I’m still researching that, but being here has enabled me to find out find out what daily life is like and what happens in basic and specialist training.”
The programme also includes a visit to the Royal Navy Submarine School based within HMS Raleigh and a look onboard the submarine HMS Courageous at Devonport Naval Base.
At the Defence Maritime Logistics School, the young people are given an understanding of the vital contribution sailors specialising at Writers, Chefs, Stewards and Supply Chain ratings make to a warship’s effectiveness.
After completing a challenge to transfer a fictional item of stores from the UK to Bahrain, 15-year-old Annabell Colwill from Millbrook, said: “I’d like to join the Navy in the future. I’m undecided on what option yet, but I quite like the look of the Supply Chain specialisation.
"I also enjoyed the shooting and the obstacle course, and I’m looking forward to the cooking later in the week. I think I’ll take away that teamwork is a big part of being in the Navy. Overall I think it’s made me want to join more.”
HMS Raleigh’s Work Experience Officer, Warrant Officer 1 Paul Stevenson, said, “HMS Raleigh has been offering work experience placements for a number of years now. We aim to show the young people what it’s like to be part of the military.
"They march as a platoon around the establishment and we encourage those who are members of the Cadet Forces to wear their uniforms. We hope that they all take something away from the experience; whether that’s something that helps in their future career within the Armed Forces or something they take to a civilian role.”
