RECRUITMENT: NIGERIAN AIR FORCE TO DOUBLE NEW INTAKES TO 2100.

RECRUITMENT: NIGERIAN AIR FORCE TO DOUBLE NEW INTAKES TO 2100.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has disclosed its recruitment plan for 2016 saying the force will recruit 2, 100 officers and men as against the 1000 to 1, 200 recruited yearly pointing out that the plan which aims at surpassing previous enlistments, is targeted at doubling the number of fresh intakes to be recruited in 2016 due to increasing security challenges in the country.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, made the disclosure weekend
while in Enugu to assess the state of facilities at the International Helicopter Flying School (IHFS) and 95 Helicopter Combat Training School (95 HCTG)
among other NAF establishments in the state.

Speaking, Air Marshal Abubakar noted that “before now the NAF usually recruits between 1000 – 1200 airmen and airwomen yearly”, adding that” the projection for 2016 is to recruit about 2100 personnel”.

The CAS, in his speech, also disclosed that the NAF is adopting a multi-prong approach to achieve both immediate and long term training objectives including collaboration with other countries in the area of training, facilities expansion and upgrade, as well as curriculum review in NAF training schools with a view to enhance their capacity to provide quality training for more personnel locally; even as the Service seeks to increase existing training slots abroad.

Accordingly, the British Military Advisory Training
Team (BMATT) is partnering with the NAF on capacity building with special emphasis on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist activities. A 30-man
BMATT team has since arrived Nigeria on 3 January 2016 to train the first batch of NAF Regiment personnel, comprising 4 officers and 100 airmen, at the Ground Training Centre, Kaduna.

The 3-week training programme is focusing on airfield defence and critical assets protection, and would be rounding up on 28 January 2016.

In an effort to meet the local training projection for 2016, the NAF of recent had to relocate 50 student pilots currently undergoing primary flying
training at the 301 Flying Training School (FTS) Kaduna to Makurdi due to bad weather. The move is intended to avoid their training from being disrupted by adverse weather conditions. The students, scheduled for helicopter flying, are expected to gain some hours on fixed aircraft before proceeding for basic helicopter training at IHFS Enugu, South Africa and United Kingdom.

The NAF Training Agenda 2016 as its objective as to foster the desire for “human capacity development through robust and result oriented training
for enhanced professional performance” as a major key driver of the vision of the CAS which is “to reposition the NAF into a highly professional and
disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient and timely employment of air power in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives”.

Meanwhile, the NAF is at the verge of
commencing another recruitment exercise for fresh intakes. Interested applicants are therefore advised to check the NAF official recruitment portal on www.careers.nigerianairforce.gov.ng for more information.

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