Typically, would-be air engineers join the Royal Navy at a young age, straight from school or college, with no specific experience.
They then spend a couple of years in training, first at the training center HMS Sultan at Gosport, and then learning on the job at one of the Fleet Air Arm’s air stations.
However, Alison Houghton has joined the Navy directly as a Petty Officer Air Engineering Technician, having already worked for 18 years as an industry contractor at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in her home county of Cornwall.
This process, known as a ‘zig-zag pathway’, recognizes that people who have worked in the private sector can already have many of the skills required by the Navy.
The new careers program allows the Service to employ stand-out individuals from the world beyond the military—and allows sailors and Royal Marines to expand their horizons by working ‘on loan’ in the civilian sphere.
Thirty-nine-year-old Alison, who is originally from Falmouth, said: “It felt like the right thing to do. I know the aircraft already – that’s the easy bit. The hardest thing is remembering that I am not in my civilian role anymore.”
Within the Merlin fleet, aircraft are rotated out of frontline operations and spend several months in a program known as depth maintenance. Run under contract by Serco, the helicopters are stripped and rebuilt before being handed back for flying operations.
PO Houghton added: “I did my degree in aircraft engineering—that was 20 years ago. I got a job at Culdrose working as a fitter’s mate for Serco in depth maintenance. Over the next 18 years I rose to become a senior supervisor and I was working on Merlins the whole time.”
As a part-time naval reservist, PO Houghton has already done her basic naval training at HMS Raleigh, which all ratings complete when entering the service.
With just a few weeks of additional training, she has been brought up to speed to join 824 Naval Air Squadron, which is itself a training unit for both engineers and aircrew, as well as being on high readiness to respond to any incidents in UK waters.
PO Houghton said: “This feels natural. I think there are a lot of people that would also like to do this. They are waiting to see how I got on down here.”
The squadron’s air engineering officer Lieutenant Commander Chris ‘Paddy’ Ashdown said PO Houghton had now joined the rest of the maintenance team doing fault diagnosis and working aircraft on the line.
He added: “I am really excited by the zig-zag course pathway. There’s a lot of talent out there to be employed, and it was great to interview Alison. She has the experience of working on Merlin, and she’s gone through a training pipeline at Serco. That means she’s worked her way up to supervisor, so she understands what it is like for our trainees and understands the role from their perspective.
“She’s already got leadership skills, and she can bring her experience of working in depth, and we can learn from that too. She’s going to be invaluable with her maintenance knowledge and a great help to my management team.”
Merlin Helicopter Force specializes in anti-submarine warfare, airborne surveillance and control, and maritime patrol to protect the nation’s nuclear deterrent, the navy’s aircraft carriers, national waters and UK interests around the world.
