In-house recruiters from a wide range of private and public sector organisations gathered in London at Recruiter’s Smart Resourcing 2013 conference, sponsored by Eploy, to listen and learn from leading thinker John Vlastelica in a keynote talk sponsored by Jobsite, and practitioners in the field of resourcing and recruiting, to network with fellow professionals and go 2 Steps Beyond

The Royal Air Force (RAF) struggles with brand identity in the public eye where the Army dominates the perception of the UK military.

From the colours of aircraft and combat uniforms to generalised references to “troops”, a term which more specifically means soldiers, the RAF is often invisible alongside its sister service, Group Captain Recruiting Ian Tolfts said. The public and media “think that because aircraft are painted green, they are Army”, Tolfts said. A particularly annoying example of the misconception was the regular media reference to “troops” beefing up the security operations at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics when the RAF made up a significant part of that contingent. 

“Half of my recruiters had to spend two months with the Games last year,” Tolfts said. 

The RAF’s invisibility is exacerbated by the rural locations of its air bases, which are more appropriate for runways. “The RAF is not in the public space,” Tolfts said.

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