# Enrolment Options & Hand Tools



## TR23 (16 Feb 2005)

Hello everyone, this is my first post here at army.ca, so I hope i have this in the right forum.
I'm currently going throught a pre-training course for a trade, HVAC-R specifically.  I've looked at a few options when I finish, which is still almost a year away.  One of the ideas that keeps coming back to mind is joining the forces, partly because I think it's a way to do some good for the world, and I would enjoy getting more training and education, especially if the government was willing to pay for it.  I've looked at several trades in the forces -Refrigeration, Heating and Plumbing, Materials Tech, Wpn Tech, and Cbt Engineer.  The all appeal to me in different ways, and I was hoping for some feedback on choosing between them.

Also, I'm starting to think about spending some serious money on tools, and knowing how hard they probably get used at various times in the forces, I was wondering what kind of hand & power tools were purchased for the units, and how well you guys like them.  Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thx everyone
Trevor


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## honestyrules (16 Feb 2005)

Welcome to army.ca!

That's a good question. First, I'd say, it would be a good thing to join as  RM tech (refrigeration). Contact your local recruiting center (when you'll be done your civvies course). Sometimes, they enlist "already qualified" tradesmans. You could get "private first hook" and bypass the L3 (apprentice level). Then you could do your L 5 down the road. After being a L 5 qualified member for a year and a half, you could challenge your civvies "journeyman" ticket civvies side, while being in the military.

That being said you would have to train for your other military qualifications anyway. Plumbing and heating is good, but why join as a plumber if you're already qualified Refri?

Mat Tech seams to be a good trade. Cbt engineer is "combat arms".

I can tell you about RM and PH techs, but for your other choices, you should ask the folks who are in those trades.

Plumber and refrigeration: work in a shop, doing maintenance and sometimes installs, a bit of field stuff. You work with other tradesmans in the unit (carpenters, electricians ,generator techs, water fuel treatment tech)...
You'll go overseas to maintain equipment on Canadian camps...

Delavan


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## honestyrules (16 Feb 2005)

Remember though!

SOLDIER FIRST!


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## TR23 (17 Feb 2005)

Thanks for the help delavan, i apprecirate the info, and getting a jumpstart on things by coming in partially trained is really intersting.  Not to say that I think i could get or deserve that kind of a deal, but I think I'll look into it, see what kind of skills the military would consider me to have already established.  Thx again, and i'm really enjoying all the various articles and posts around here.


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## honestyrules (18 Feb 2005)

reference tools , it really depends of the kind of money the unit has to spend on tools.

You are issued a tool box ,with the tools needed to do the job. It is a standardized tool kit for the trade. Some bigger equipment is available in the unit's tool crib.

Nobody uses his personal tools...

For the qualifications, this is the way it works...

1- The recruting offices have a list of the trades schools in every provinces, and which course from which college is equivalent to what in the military. So they offer you a contract as semi-qualified (apprentice), or qualified (journeyman). If you bypass courses, such as QL3, you're saving some money to the military. Sometimes, you can get a "signing bonus" too...

just take your time and choose a trade (in the army) that you'll like. Take all the info and go for it.
But you can also join a recruit "non-trained" and you'll go to Gagetown, new-brunswick to learn your trade ( plumber or refrigeration). They have good learning facilities and tools....


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## ab136 (19 Feb 2005)

Very helpful delavan. I was curious about tool; whether we use our own or have them supplied.


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