Royal Navy rating
Support the Royal Navy through a variety of roles on ships and submarines or in a shore base.
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£365
Entry level
£692
Experienced
Monthly
£1,583
Entry level
£3,000
Experienced
Yearly
£19,000
Entry level
£36,000
Experienced
2,600
people are currently employed
Low growth
200 fewer jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You'd support the Royal Navy through a variety of roles on ships and submarines or in a shore base.
Your work would vary depending on which branch of the service you support and your specific trade.
You could work in:
warfare – you'd look after weapons, electronic systems and communications systems on a ship
submarine service – you'd look after weapons, electronic systems and communications systems on a submarine
engineering – you'd keep ships, submarines and aircraft running
logistics – you'd manage office, accounting, stores and catering systems
medical, including Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) – you would give healthcare to personnel and their families
naval air branch – you'd prepare aircraft for flight and help to navigate
Hours
Environment
Travel
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- problem solving
- cooperating
- verbal communication
- working with technology
- listening
- reading
- understanding
- developing a plan
- making decisions
- resilience
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Practical Craft Skills
Skills for Work: Maritime Skills
Skills for Work: Uniformed and Emergency Services
There are no minimum requirements for entering the Royal Navy as a rating. But to give yourself the widest range of opportunities it’s a good idea to have National 4/5 qualifications or equivalent.
Qualifications and experience that demonstrate the Royal Navy's core values of commitment, courage, discipline, respect, integrity and loyalty, such as:
Skills for Work: Uniformed and Emergency Services
SQA Leadership Award
Cadet Organisation or other youth awards
You need to be aged between 16 years and 39 years old to join. Certain roles may have different age ranges which you should check.
You'll need to be a minimum height of 145cm. For aviators, this is 151.5cm and for submariners it's 157cm.
You'll need to be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen or have dual nationality.
You must also be within the healthy range for Body Mass Index (BMI).
Some roles may require you to have normal colour vision.
You'll need to complete a full security check.
Any tattoos on your face, throat area or in front of your ears are not allowed. Tattoos which aren't on these areas but are considered offensive or obscene aren't allowed. There are also restrictions on body piercings.
You will need to pass the Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA). It's a series of tests, which evaluate your knowledge, understanding and performance in key areas vital to career success within the Royal Navy. There are six separate parts to this test which you will need to complete within a strict time limit. These measure:
verbal reasoning
numerical reasoning
work rate
spacial reasoning
electrical comprehension
mechanical comprehension
You will also need to pass medical and eye tests and the Royal Navy Pre-Joining Fitness Test.
Once you’ve passed all the tests, you must attend and pass the Candidate Preparation Course (CPC)before you can begin your basic training.
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