Cadet Local & National Courses
As you become more experienced as a cadet, you’ll begin to take on extra responsibilities and have further opportunities to attend Local and National Courses to develop your skills.
Depending on your Corps, you will have a number of local and national courses available to you throughout your NZCF careers. These include both leadership (promotion) courses and specific skill training courses. Cadet Units also participate in regional and national skills competitions or regattas.
All of the training activities conducted through the Common Training Programme (link to overview of NZCF training) including weekly parade nights, camps, range shoots, and community events such as ANZAC Day commemorations build a range of skills to help the cadets succeed at these local and national courses.
Our Courses
Junior Non-Commissioned Officer (JNCO) Course
This course is the first promotion course a cadet will experience, and a cadet must successfully complete the course to be eligible for promotion to a Junior NCO rank. In order to attend the course the Cadet must have completed the second year of the Training Syllabus. The course has a mixture of theory and practical components, and assesses the cadets on Drill Instruction, Squad Handling, Presentation Techniques and Leadership Skills.
Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) Course
Once a Junior NCO has proven themselves to be a competent leader at their unit, they can then apply for the Senior NCO Course. To do this they must have qualified on a Junior Non-Commissioned Officers Course and completed the third year of the Training Syllabus and then they can attend the Senior NCO promotion course.
The cadet must successfully complete the course to be eligible for promotion to a Senior NCO rank. On the course the Junior NCO will participate in some classroom lessons but the bulk of the course is practical assessments of their ability to handle two or more squads of Cadets, Drill Instruction, Leadership Skills and their ability to deliver theory lessons to a group of students.
Cadet Coxswain Course
For the Navy Cadets, there is the Cadet Coxswain Course.This course provides theory and practical instruction in Sailing Skills, Coxswain & Crew Responsibilities, and Emergency Procedures.
To be eligible to attend this course a Cadet must have successfully completed the the JNCO course; have completed Yachting New Zealand’s (YNZ) Learn to Sail 1 and 2, be Qualified on the Royal New Zealand Coast Guard Day Skippers Module, be medically fit and capable of completing the training and have logged six (6) hours experience in various crew positions.
National Gliding Course
The National Gliding Course is available to Air Cadets who are a minimum of 15 years of age at the start of the course, have completed the second-year of the Training Syllabus, meet the medical requirements and are able to meet any course flying fees where applicable.
The activity covers both theory and practical instruction in accordance with the NZ Gliding Association “A” Certificate syllabus including Ground Handling, Effects of Controls, Turns, Stalls, Circuit & Circuit Emergencies.
Cadets will have the opportunity to fly in gliders, and potentially even fly solo.
National Aviation Course (Navigation)
The National Aviation Course – Navigation, is available to Air Cadets who are a minimum of 15 years of age at the start of the course, have completed the second-year of the Training Syllabus, meet the medical requirements, and are able to meet any course flying fees where applicable.
The course covers both theory and practical instruction in accordance with New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority Private Pilot Licence Navigation syllabus including Speed/Distance/Time Calculations, Navigation Chart Reading & Plotting and Practical Air Navigation Techniques.
National Aviation Course (Power Flying)
The National Aviation Course- Power Flying, is available to Air Cadets who are a minimum of 16 years of age at the start of the course and under 20 years of age at the completion of the course, have completed the second-year of the Training Syllabus, show a genuine interest in pursuing aviation, meet the medical requirements and are able to meet any course flying fees where applicable.
The course covers both theory and practical instruction in accordance with New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority Ab-initio flight training syllabus including Theory of Flight, Effects of Controls, Turns, Climbing & Descending, Stalls, Circuits & Circuit Emergencies and Flight Radio Telephony. Cadets will get the opportunity to fly in aircraft, and if they meet the CAA requirements they may get the opportunity to fly solo.
RNZAF Flying Immersion Course
The RNZAF Flying Immersion course is a 20 day course held at RNZAF Base Ohakea. To attend, cadets must be aged 17-19 years of age, have completed The National Aviation Course (Power Flying) and received high marks, have expressed an interest in joining the RNZAF, gain the necessary medical clearances and have no injuries at the time of nomination.
The RNZAF Flying Immersion Course provides Air Cadets cadets, who have expressed significant interest in joining the RNZAF as aircrew and met all the prerequisites, with an opportunity to experience what service life is like for aircrew within the RNZAF. While on course they get to see and experience different career options, and spend time studying in the ground school before progressing to spend time in the simulators logging some flight time.
NZCF Shooting Coaches Course
The Shooting Coaches Course is open to both NZCF Officers and Senior NCOs. The course teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to coach firers on the .22 Marlin rifle, so that they can employ best marksmanship principles. Students will qualify as a safety supervisor and are able to apply the knowledge gained to coach cadets to improve their marksmanship.
Drone Operators Course
The Drone Operators Course is available to all cadets who have completed their first year of training. Its a three day weekend course that covers the theory aspects of drones, pre-flight preparations and drone flying. Cadets are taught the technical skills, rules and regulations associated with them and also get to fly and develop their skills with the drones.
Our Competitions
In addition to our many courses, there are also competitions that Cadet Units are able to participate in. Many of these competitions are Corps specific, but are a fantastic way for Cadets to meet, mix and mingle with our Cadets from around the region, or nationally.
Regatta - Regional or National
This one is for the Navy Cadets and sees them practising their skills as a team at their unit, before entering a team to compete against other units in the regional competition. The Regional Regatta focuses on skills such as sailing, pulling, seamanship, drill and ropework.
The team that wins the regional competition will go on to face the winning teams from the other two regions in the National Regatta where the skills are tested to a higher level, and a few activities are planned for the cadets that they haven’t had the opportunity to train for to see how they adapt as a team.
ATC Skills - Regional or National
This one is for the Air Cadets and sees them practising their skills as a team at their unit, before entering a team to compete against other units in the regional competition. The Regional ATC Skills competition focuses on skills such as aviation studies, drill, teamwork tasks, marksmanship shoots and first aid.
The team that wins the regional competition will go on to face the winning teams from the other two regions in the National ATC Skills Competition where their skills are tested to a higher level, and a few activities are planned for the cadets that they haven’t had the opportunity to train for to see how they adapt as a team. The ATC Skills Competition also encompasses the Davy Memorial Drill Competition, which is held on the same weekend as ATC Skills.
NZCC Skill-at-Arms
This one is for the Army Cadets and sees them practising their skills as a team at their unit, before entering a team to compete against other units in the regional competition. The Regional Skill-at-Arms competition focuses on skills such as navigation, marksmanship, drill, first aid and fitness .
The team that wins the regional competition will go on to face the winning teams from the other two regions in the Skill-at-Arms Competition where their skills are tested to a higher level, and a few activities are planned for the cadets that they haven’t had the opportunity to train for to see how they adapt as a team.
Marksmanship Competitions
There are many marksmanship competitions available for cadet units to enter a team in. Teams shoot their targets and send them away for scoring, and hopefully earn one of the marksmanship badges available to them. There are competitions at both regional and national levels that are corps-specific and units can also enter the Ffennell competition, which is open to all units from commonwealth countries to compete in.
So if you like what you see, and want a challenge, look at our Join Us page to see what you need to do next!