This year due to the lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions, many Army Cadet Force (ACF) face-to-face activities have been unable to take place as usual.
However, during this time our cadet forces have been finding innovative ways to take training and activities to a safe online environment. Working in the background they have been looking for ways they can successfully continue to run as an organisation and deliver quality training to the cadets and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.
Whilst adapting activities to an online world brings its own challenges, some aspects of the physical cadet experience are trickier to replicate. One of these challenging aspects is encouraging new cadets to join their local detachments.
Each year as cadets get older the units lose a number of amazing young people, and without a recruitment plan, they would soon be without cadets in the organisation.
This year has been difficult to attract new members, as all the detachments have had to be closed. Normally a new prospective cadet would visit the local detachment with their parent or carer and speak to the detachment staff face-to-face.
Thinking outside of the box, A Company’s Bridgnorth Detachment at Shropshire ACF have worked alongside A Company’s HQ and the County HQ, to overcome this challenge with virtual recruitment.
A parent or carer can now contact the County HQ or their local Detachment, speak to a member of staff over the phone and then submit an enrolment form via email.
This September saw the county’s very first virtual recruitment, with Cadet Serjeant Drye welcoming his younger sister into the Army Cadet Force organisation.
If you are the parent or carer of a young person who would like to join Shropshire Army Cadet Force as a cadet, please visit the link below where you can find details on what they do as an organisation and how to enrol as a cadet: https://armycadets.com/county/shropshire-acf/
For more information about our cadet forces, or where to find your local cadet detachments in your area, visit our cadets web page here.