RAF Mover – Full Time Career with Apprenticeship

RAF Movers are responsible for the movement of troops and cargo according to RAF operational needs.

You will operate IT systems, load and unload transport aircraft and accompany cargo all over the world. 

You could be checking-in passengers flying out on operations or operating forklift trucks and specialist vehicles to load cargo and baggage to transport aircraft. 

It could be your job to plan aircraft loads using IT systems, or calculate aircraft weights and balances using pen and paper with weight and balance paperwork. 

You could work in a port where shipments of cargo and explosives are handled, or help put together an under-slung load for a helicopter. Like most people in the RAF, you will probably move jobs every few years, and each job is known as a tour. 

Within your first few years, you will probably be detached overseas for anything from a few days to a few months. You may also have a long-term posting to one of our overseas bases, such as RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

On successful completion of the application and selection process, your apprenticeship will start with a 10-week Basic Recruit Training Course (BRTC) at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire.

The course is designed to help you adjust to a military environment. As well as fitness and military training, you’ll also learn about the RAF lifestyle. 

Your next step will be a specialist training course at the Defence Movements Training Squadron (DMTS), RAF Brize Norton, which lasts approximately 18 weeks.

This course will give you a basic understanding of your role as a Logistics Mover, which includes transport procedures and regulations, aircraft loading and the handling of passengers and cargo.

At the end of the course, you will gain a Level 2 Apprenticeship as an Aviation Ground Operative – Aircraft Handling.  

Apprentices who have not yet achieved level 1 English and maths are required to achieve level 1 English and maths and take the test for level 2 prior to completion of the apprenticeship. 

The apprenticeship is a gateway to a full-time career in the Royal Air Force. Promotion to the rank of Corporal and beyond is dependent on successful completion of the apprenticeship and then on merit by competitive selection. As you advance through the ranks, you will have the increased opportunity to lead and direct people, manage resources and workforce within your area of work to deliver the required output whilst maintaining and instilling the highest standards expected within the RAF.