Bosses at the recently expanded Pirbright-based outfit said they wanted to attract gifted individuals passionate about passing on all they’ve learned.
They were speaking after the school rolled out a reworked package to prepare new intakes of section commanders who coach troops at training bases.
Commanding officer Lt Col Ed Thompson (above) has said he wanted to promote a robust learning culture. Ensuring junior NCOs were prepared for instructor roles was key, he stressed, adding: “We now have a new pre-employment training course, which we run for the Soldier Academy.
“The package looks at leadership and behaviours and mental resilience – candidates also complete specialist qualifications such as skill at arms and the mandatory defence trainer course.”
Meanwhile, school staff are also involved in other work, including outsourcing their expertise to units, upskilling Ukrainian forces on Op Interflex and assisting army mentors to become more confident.
“We changed our name from the Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command Staff Leadership School to the Army Instructor School about six months ago – put simply, the name better defines our role,” said Lt Col Thompson. “Driven by senior command, we have also been expanding significantly, growing our staff numbers here by around 20 per cent.”
The officer said he wanted high quality individuals to join his team – a cohort which already has several decades of experience within it.
The latest arrivals included SCpl Tommo Thomas (RHG/D), who is on full-time reserve service after a 22-year regular career and is enjoying the latest challenge of working on the pre-employment course.
He said junior NCOs in training roles needed to be prepared for a huge responsibility. “Nobody is ever going to forget their first section commander – that experience will stay with them forever,” he added.
“For me, coming here as a reservist is an opportunity to give back.”
