Sectors: Defence and Armed Forces

You don’t need to have had any prior experience but in general terms activities that demonstrate your suitability do carry some weight. In addition, each service has its own university unit and joining and participating in the activities of the unit will give you insight into the work and culture as well as providing evidence of your motivation. 

Cambridge University Royal Naval Unit 

Cambridge University Officers’ Training Corps 

Cambridge University Air Squadron 

Each will hold regular training events with additional occasional periods of activity and training outside term time and away from home. 

Paid work in a variety of areas, as well as society and volunteering activities will help develop and demonstrate leadership and management responsibility.  

Sporting activities at multiple levels of competency and competitiveness will give you an opportunity to establish and enhance physical fitness for roles where that is relevant. 

The graduate recruitment websites are; 

Royal Navy (including the Royal Marines) 

British Army 

Royal Air Force 

It can be useful to connect to the relevant branch of the armed via their social media as recruitment teams are usually active. 

It is worth noting that whilst following a professional career outside the Armed Forces it is still possible to volunteer to be a Reserve, ready to support the “regulars” in times of crisis. You are trained and remunerated for undertaking such a role see Royal Naval Reserves, Royal Marines Reserve, The Army Reserve, and RAF Reserves.

The University training units for each branch of the Armed Forces Cambridge are detailed in the ‘how to get the experience to be credible’ section.