Armed forces technical officer : Employers and vacancy sources

The four employers within the armed forces are:

• Royal Navy  
• Army  
• Royal Air Force (RAF)  
• Royal Marines  

The armed services are an arm of the government, which defines their purpose. At this time, the purposes of the armed services are given as follows:

• to defend the United Kingdom and its interests;
• to assist in keeping the peace around the world;
• to deliver emergency humanitarian relief.

Much of the time, the armed services achieve these aims through membership of alliances, particularly the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) , but unilateral responsibilities (for example the Falklands conflict) may mean that they act alone and thus need to be equipped and trained for all aspects of modern warfare. Britain's membership of the United Nations (UN) and permanent place at the Security Council may also necessitate the use of armed force in defence of international security (as in Afghanistan) or in support of humanitarian and peacekeeping initiatives (as in Bosnia or after the Asian tsunami). The services have an important diplomatic function in representing Britain overseas and are also involved in training other countries' armed forces, both in the UK and abroad.

Sources of vacancies

• Royal Navy Careers  
• Army Careers  
• Royal Air Force Careers  
• Royal Marines Careers  
• Armed forces DVDs and information packs.
• Armed forces university liaison officers (ULOs), careers fairs and on-campus presentations.
• Local armed forces recruitment and careers offices.
• National press and relevant professional journals.

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