Edinburgh Napier University

  This report is about the university armed service unit experience and the development
of graduate-level skills amongst participants. Drawing on data collected from the
Northumbrian Universities’ Officer Training Corps, Royal Naval Unit and Air Squadron,
the research reported here explores the perceptions and experiences of Commanding
Officers and participating students of the opportunities that service unit participation
offers for the development of skills relevant to the graduate labour market. This
question of the value to graduates of the service unit experience is part of a broader
question of the utility, purpose and value of the service units to individuals, employers
and to the armed forces. There is a dearth of published research on this issue in the UK,
and this report is part of an attempt to address that knowledge gap.
This report draws on interviews with the Commanding Officers of the three university
armed service units and with personnel within Newcastle University, a survey of unit
participants, and initial efforts to assess the views of graduate employers about the
aptitudes of those with service unit experience.