Foreman of Signals (Information Systems)
Encyclopedia
Foreman of Signals
A soldier selected for Foreman of Signals (IS) training must hold a minimum qualification of ECDL
. Students currently undertake a foundation course in Military CIS. On completion of the course, the soldier is promoted to Staff Sergeant
if the rank is not already held, and assumes the appointment of Foreman of Signals (IS). The holder of the appointment can be promoted through the ranks every year without much effort from Staff Sergeant, to Warrant Officer Class 2, then Warrant Officer Class 1. To distinguish the appointment the suffix of (FofS (IS) is used (i.e. SSgt(FofS (IS)), WO2(FofS (IS)), WO1(FofS (IS))).
From its first inception until recently the trade has seen by the Corp as an easy option to obtain supervisory status than the more conventional FofS and YofS selection. To that end many operators and Driver Linemen, who have found promotion difficult in their original trade group, opted for a change with the promise of yearly promotion from SSgt to WO1. Promotion recently has come into line with all other trades in that it has to become toughter to earn. In 2011 the trade became solely available to CSENG class 1 tradesmen and it is hoped that the quality of those in the trade will now increase as a result.
There are still elements of stigma to the trade group, mainly from other supervisory elements who did not see a requirement for an additional supervisory trade group. This unfortunately has come from elements without a level of maturity to accept the requiremet of a trade group dedicated to IS rather than engineering. As such the emergence of derogatory nicknames such as Lance FofS, FofS ISn't and IS Lizards has arisen. The bitterness inolved took to unprecendented levels upon the renaming from Supervisor IS to FofS IS as the original Foreman of Signals trade saw it as an attempt to marry the two supervisory groups (not possible due to the vast difference in their jobs).
A soldier selected for Foreman of Signals (IS) training must hold a minimum qualification of ECDL
ECDL
ECDL is an acronym which may refer to:* El Canto del Loco, a Spanish pop group* European Computer Driving Licence, a computer literacy certification programme* European Conference on Digital Libraries, an international conference series...
. Students currently undertake a foundation course in Military CIS. On completion of the course, the soldier is promoted to Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
if the rank is not already held, and assumes the appointment of Foreman of Signals (IS). The holder of the appointment can be promoted through the ranks every year without much effort from Staff Sergeant, to Warrant Officer Class 2, then Warrant Officer Class 1. To distinguish the appointment the suffix of (FofS (IS) is used (i.e. SSgt(FofS (IS)), WO2(FofS (IS)), WO1(FofS (IS))).
History
The title has Foreman of Signals (IS) was granted to the supervisory trade formally known as Supervisor (IS)in 2007. The first Supervisor (IS) title holders did not complete any sort of training in order to obtain the title. The School of Signals in Blandford Dorset, patched together a short eight weeks course which was then extended to cover a lengthy eight months of training. The course thus evolved to include a Foundation Degree accredited by Bournemouth University. As of 2011 all students who successfully complete the FofS(IS) course are awarded a BSc(Hons) degree in line with their Foreman of Signals brethren.From its first inception until recently the trade has seen by the Corp as an easy option to obtain supervisory status than the more conventional FofS and YofS selection. To that end many operators and Driver Linemen, who have found promotion difficult in their original trade group, opted for a change with the promise of yearly promotion from SSgt to WO1. Promotion recently has come into line with all other trades in that it has to become toughter to earn. In 2011 the trade became solely available to CSENG class 1 tradesmen and it is hoped that the quality of those in the trade will now increase as a result.
There are still elements of stigma to the trade group, mainly from other supervisory elements who did not see a requirement for an additional supervisory trade group. This unfortunately has come from elements without a level of maturity to accept the requiremet of a trade group dedicated to IS rather than engineering. As such the emergence of derogatory nicknames such as Lance FofS, FofS ISn't and IS Lizards has arisen. The bitterness inolved took to unprecendented levels upon the renaming from Supervisor IS to FofS IS as the original Foreman of Signals trade saw it as an attempt to marry the two supervisory groups (not possible due to the vast difference in their jobs).