ROTP Mature student 31 years old

[Stefano13]

Hello all, I am a 31 year old male who has spent the last 9 years in automotive retail, and the last 7 of those years as a manager. I have found this occupation not as fulfilling as I expected when I left university and pursued this career. I am very good at it, but just cannot stand the hypocrisy and politics and back-stabbing that happens in the dealership environment. I decided to quit and did. Lately I have been researching the Canadian armed forces, mainly the ROTP program and RMCC, however I do not meet the academic requirements at all. I did not take school seriously in my younger years, and completely wasted my one year at university. I also read up on the mature student requirements and was hoping someone could enlighten me on how that process works. I will also be going to a recruiting center next week to try and discuss this one on one with a recruiter. Upon applying are there any particular positions I would have a better chance at getting into? Or is this just the wrong way of looking at it and focus more on 3 jobs in which I would love to do?? 
Thank you for reading and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. 

 

[Master Corporal Steven]

Good day Stefano13,

You will be considered for admission as a mature student if you:

-will be 21 years or older as of the first day of classes of the session for which you have applied;
-do not meet the minimum academic prerequisites for admission to any of RMCC's academic programmes,
-are a Canadian citizen; and
-wish to be admitted under Mature Student Status.

Applicants must also meet one of the following conditions:

-Be an MOC (Military Occupation Classification) qualified member of the Canadian Forces (CF), including members of the Reserve Forces. Non MOC qualified members may apply with the recommendation of their unit or formation Commander; or
-Be an employee of the Department of National Defence (DND), or
-Be a spouse of a member of the CF.

For more information on apply as a mature student visit the following link; http://www.rmc.ca/adm/ua-epc/ms-ea-eng.php

With regards to the occupations to list on your application, they should be occupations that are of interest to you. Review the information and videos on our website to help you in selecting the occupation that you would like as a career.

 

[Stefano13]

Thank you master corporal Steven, I appreciate your response.
I have seen almost all the videos on the site and have narrowed it down to 3 or 4 positions that I think I would enjoy and be of some value to the caf.
However, how do I receive military occupational classification??
My understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, is by going through the application process and being deemed worthy of service. I do not work for the DND nor am I the spouse of a Military  member or part of the reserve forces.
Once again, thank you for your response and input in the matter

As for the 3 positions I was thinking of applying for are:
1) Engineer Officer
2) Logistics Officer
3) Mars officer

I also read that mature student is only accepted in the arts program, therefore, are my options of positions limited to a certain few or would my acceptance be based on me proving myself during first year??

 

[Master Corporal Steven]

Good day Stefano13,

To meet Military Occupation Classification (MOC) you must be a serving member of the CAF Regular or Primary Reserve force and have completed Basic training and Trades training.

For example if you joined the infantry as a Non-Commissioned Member (NCM) you would meet MOC when you are a fully trained infantry soldier. Furthermore using this example you decide as a over 21 years of age NCM that you would rather be an Officer but you do not have the university level education to become a Officer. You would then apply as a mature student for ROTP.

You are correct that admission of mature students is limited to the Faculty of Arts and the Bachelor of Military Arts and Science. However Mature students who intend to pursue their baccalaureate degrees in Science or Engineering may only be admitted to these faculties once they have successfully completed 2 full university courses, or have been accredited with the equivalent of 2 full university courses and meet the academic pre-requisites of their preferred programme.

Out of your three Occupations that you are thinking of applying for Logistics Officer and Mars Officer would be within the Faculty of Arts program.       

 

[Stefano13]

Once again, thank you very much for the response.
I called the recruiting center near my residence and they informed me that on Thursday, January 15th 2015 there would be someone there to speak with me for ten to fifteen minutes. If i understand correctly based on our conversation here is that because i do not meet the academic requirements there is no way to be accepted into ROTP at the current time and should now divert my focus on finding 3 to 4 trades in the caf that interest me. If i am accepted to a trade and pass BMQ and trades training I then may have a chance to apply for ROTP??. I am not sure this is the route i wanted to go as it would be a waste of tax-payer dollars to train me for something i have no intention in doing. 
Another idea, what if i re-took some high school courses through a night school program and brought my grades up to standard, would that then allow me to apply as a regular student such as any other grade 11 or 12 student. I just find that it would be a waste of tax-payer dollars to train me for a position which I was using for a stepping stone and did not want to actually occupy.
If there is any other route in which could get me there I am all ears.
My high school averages are as folows
Grade 10 - 70%
Grade 11 - 65%
Grade 12 - 67%
O.A.C (Grade 13) - 68% 
My schooling was all done in Ontario.

I believe I understand what my options are now and will speak to the recruiter on Thursday and not waste any more of your time, and once again i really do appreciate your concise and timely responses to my questions. 

 

[Master Corporal Steven]

Good day Stefano13,

Mature Students only applies to current serving members, DND employees, and spouses of serving members.

In your situation, your academic grades will not allow you to qualify for ROTP.

If you really want to join the Forces, I would suggest having a look at the non-commissioned member (NCM) occupations. There are paid education options for NCM as well (college diploma programs).

If you really want to be an Officer, you could always earn a Canadian recognized baccalaureate degree on your own and then apply to the Forces.

 

[Atominthesky]

Good day Stefano13,

Mature Students only applies to current serving members, DND employees, and spouses of serving members.

In your situation, your academic grades will not allow you to qualify for ROTP.

If you really want to join the Forces, I would suggest having a look at the non-commissioned member (NCM) occupations. There are paid education options for NCM as well (college diploma programs).

If you really want to be an Officer, you could always earn a Canadian recognized baccalaureate degree on your own and then apply to the Forces.

Master Corporal,

I have a question on this. I'm in a similar situation as the OP. 28 years old, but I don't meet the academic requirements. DEP is not an option. I am wondering, in the path from NCM to Officer, would it be best to go through UTPNCM or to apply to ROTP as Mature student? What potential obstacles could I encounter going these routes? I understand that through UTPNCM I must meet the academic requirements however I feel that over the course of training and working in my NCM role I could do some online courses to fix my academic issues and therefore meet the requirements at the time I would apply.

Also how would the pay scale work for the duration of my education under either program? Would I be paid in my NCM salary until graduation or under the Officer Cadet pay scale? If so, is that A or B scale?

Thanks

 

[Master Corporal Steven]

Good day,

UTPNCM is an option available for current serving NCM's to gain the University education required for the officer occupation that they are requesting a occupational transfer to. Serving members applying for this must have qualified for the officer occupation on the CFAT/TSD testing and have the education prerequisites including Two full university credits and unconditional acceptance into an approved undergraduate degree program for the Officer occupation.

Your pay if you are successful in your application for subsidized education would be determined as part of the processing of the request.