Cbbmtt said:
Thank you for the responses.
From my understanding that the site may say that they are in need for those career paths, however they are not always up to date. I have talked to a few people that were in the Fire Fighter role and they have explained that there is quite a few people that transfer into this role after some time already in the forces. I completely forgot what that is called.
As
Robert0288 said, it's called an occupational transfer, or OT. Asking to change trades is a voluntary OT, or VOT. Being told you must change trades is a compulsory OT, or COT. Generally, a COT would be if you failed part of your training and the review board figures you'd do better in a different trade, or if you (for whatever reason) no longer meet the medical requirements for your trade (e.g., vision, hearing, etc) and a career review board decides you can no longer be in your trade. The second reason for a COT shouldn't be a concern for you as the recruiting center will take your medical standing into account when you apply for your choice of trade.
I believe it's fairly easy to VOT before you begin your trade training, though again it will depend on what trades are open. When I taught at CFLRS back in '06, I had a recruit whose first choice has been WFE (water, fuels & environment tech), but he'd been given something else because WFE wasn't open at the time he applied. But, by the time he'd got to Saint-Jean, WFE had opened, so it's worth asking at Basic, if you don't get your choice at the RC. Just be prepared for the answer to be 'no', too.
Is there any CFLRS staff here who can speak to the current VOT policies at the school?
At which point in the application role would they tell you which position that they have assigned you. After the Interview process?
CAVEAT: I am not a recruiter nor do I play one on the internet
That said, after the interview process seems reasonable to me. After all, if (for whatever reason), the CF decides not to accept you at all, does it matter what trade you would have been given? So as I see it, the order would be interview, acceptance (or not) and if accepted, then inform you of which trade you'll get. Bear in mind it's entirely possible you'll (a) qualify for all three of your choices and (b) they are looking for personnel in all three, so be prepared to make a choice.
I have been following the med tech position for a while and the site right now does not state that you need the Grade 12 biology.
"The minimum required education to apply for this position is the completion of the provincial requirements for Grade 12", which I have. Unfortunately I focused on math and took Earth Science to satisfy my science requirement.
In that case, I wouldn't be surprised if the RC decides not to offer Med Tech, since your school records would, to them, indicate interest & aptitude in a different direction. Believe it or not, the staff at the RC will try to take your interests into account, but there are several other factors they must consider as well.
I will update this thread once I get called in for the testing, if you are interested any results will be here.
Please do; I'd be interested to see how things go for you.