Army Reserves staff and Officer Cadets at Cambridge University Officer Training Corps are supporting Army Engagement in East Anglia by offering leadership training events to local businesses.
The team at CUOTC invited local businesses to send their leadership team members on a military-themed leadership training day. The Cambridge RFCA Employer Engagement group assisted the unit in selecting and contacting local businesses to be involved in this event, dubbed ” Exercise Executive Leader”.
54 participants from 32 companies took part in a series of training activities that included stimulating leadership and resilience training. One participant commented: “I truly got a lot of inspiration from the day and some valuable tools and points to take into my leadership learning.”
The participants improved their understanding of the Army’s role and its people, including the differences between Regular Army personnel, Reservists and Officer Cadets. Cambridge University Officers’ Training Corps (CUOTC) is an Army Reserve unit that recruits exclusively from university students across the East Anglia Region. Affiliated universities include: Cambridge, University of East Anglia, Cambridge Regional College, Anglia Ruskin, Hertfordshire, Bedford, Essex and Writtle College.
One of the participants was Katie Neville, Executive Assistant to the Managing Director and Marketing Lead for Chapman Ventilation. Katie said about the event: “It was brilliant to see first-hand the skills and behaviours that are taught and encouraged in the Army, and understand the life experiences that are achieved.” Chapman Ventilation was awarded the Gold Employer Recognition Scheme Award by the MOD in 2021, and shared Katie’s participation in this event on their LinkedIn page.
The same CUOTC team that ran this event also ran a similar day for local school children. Engagement activities such as this offer the added benefit of providing great event planning and leadership opportunities for the Officer Cadets. Subject to capacity, CUOTC aims to host a similar event for Higher Education Institutions across the East Anglia region.
