2015-2016 Survey
Up and running now! Click here to fill it out!
2013-2014 Feedback Results
107 Squadron created a survey through FluidSurveys to ask current cadets, parents, and other members of the 107 Squadron community what they liked about the program and changes they wanted to see. Thank you to all who gave feedback.
As a result certain recommendations were made, and some of the changes have already been implemented.
Changes due to the feedback from the survey include: creation of a new on-line absence reporting system, increased focus on sports for the 2014-2015 training year, improved effort to improve drill and dress standards, planning for another year end trip, changing the band aspect of the Drill and Band day to focus more on team building, and streamlining the communication of 107 Squadron- now only the website, a weekly e-mail, and handouts for major activities.
Another survey will come out next year, stay tuned!
As a result certain recommendations were made, and some of the changes have already been implemented.
Changes due to the feedback from the survey include: creation of a new on-line absence reporting system, increased focus on sports for the 2014-2015 training year, improved effort to improve drill and dress standards, planning for another year end trip, changing the band aspect of the Drill and Band day to focus more on team building, and streamlining the communication of 107 Squadron- now only the website, a weekly e-mail, and handouts for major activities.
Another survey will come out next year, stay tuned!
About the Survey
The number of cadets at 107 Squadron had been in decline for the last few years therefore Captain Blaine Beaven as Commanding Officer, and Captain Craig Moore, as Training Officer implemented a new command structure at the unit in an attempt to increase recruitment and retention at 107 Squadron. This growth initiative is in line with directives from Cadets Canada Headquarters as part of their Cadet Growth Initiative, which hopes to expand the number of Cadets (Army, Sea, and Air) across Canada to 70,000 by June 2016 (Cadets Canada, 2010).
The growth initiative mentioned above has put together an implementation plan, for which they surveyed staff and cadets across Canada to find out common themes about issues that influence the recruitment and retention of Cadets (Cadets Canada, 2010). One major theme was enhance youth voice and engagement, under which giving youth voice was recommended in order to expand the program. The feedback survey developed for 107 Squadron uses this recommendation and gives the youth of 107 Squadron voice.
Specifically asking the respondents what subjects they would like mandatory weekend training to cover, allows the cadets’ voice to have direct impact on the mandatory aspects of the program at 107 Squadron. Also recommended was greater youth engagement, this was also achieved with the survey by allowing the senior cadets to have input on the contents of the survey for which they added questions.
A second theme was focus on program delivery and continuous improvement, whereby it was recommended to build training evaluation capacity into the program (Cadets Canada, 2010). The 107 Feedback survey uses this recommendation as well, as the survey can be used each year. The survey also asks about mandatory and optional training in order to cover all aspects of training to ensure all aspects are delivered well and improved upon if necessary.
The growth initiative also recommended ensuring efficiency at the local cadet units to ensure that the fundraising that does occur is able to have a large impact (Cadets Canada, 2010). As 107 Squadron has been struggling with fundraising activities a page was dedicated to ensuring cadets were aware of fundraising initiatives and to find out what could be done to ensure efficiency with the fundraising that already occurs.
Another study done by Cadets Canada as part of their growth initiative was a youth advisory ePanel to advise the cadet leaders on ways to improve the program (Cadets Canada, 2011). It was again recommended to increase youth voice and engagement in the program, as well as improving the quality of instruction. A specific question is asked about the quality of instruction in the 107 survey, as this is also a concern at 107 Squadron among senior cadets and staff. Another recommendation was to change up parade nights, therefore questions were asked in the 107 survey about the inclusion of sports nights and official parade nights. As well it was recommended to review the ways that squadrons communicate with cadets, therefore this was also addressed in the 107 survey.
The objective of this evaluation is to give an indication to 107 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of the current program implementation and outcome effectiveness of their program. This evaluation will verify if the program is meeting the needs of the cadet participants and that it is being implemented according to the standards set out by Cadets Canada. The findings of this evaluation will allow the staff at 107 Air Cadet Squadron to make changes to how they implement their skills training to allow them to better serve the youth of the Squadron.
On order to grow, 107 Squadron wanted feedback from cadets, parents, staff, and the public who have an interest in 107 Squadron’s activities. This feedback would increase the benefits of the program, and streamline the process to deliver what program participants (the cadets) want in their program, to increase retention, and therefore increase the growth of 107 Squadron. A survey is one method to facilitate 107’s growth initiative.
This evaluation addressed the following questions:
1) Are participants satisfied with the current 107 training structure?
2) Is the program attracting participants in the most effective manner?
3) Is the program marketing itself to receive adequate resources?
4) Is the Sponsoring Committee operating effectively?
5) Is the cadet mess committee operating effectively?
If you would like a copy of the survey, or to learn more, please contact us here.
References
Cadets Canada. (2010). Maximizing the cadet program’s potential: Cadet population growth initiative (CPGI) master implementation plan (MIP). Ottawa: Canada.
Cadets Canada. (2011). Youth advisory ePanel (YAP) 2011: Summary of discussion #1- Keeping more cadets in the program longer. Ottawa: Canada.
The growth initiative mentioned above has put together an implementation plan, for which they surveyed staff and cadets across Canada to find out common themes about issues that influence the recruitment and retention of Cadets (Cadets Canada, 2010). One major theme was enhance youth voice and engagement, under which giving youth voice was recommended in order to expand the program. The feedback survey developed for 107 Squadron uses this recommendation and gives the youth of 107 Squadron voice.
Specifically asking the respondents what subjects they would like mandatory weekend training to cover, allows the cadets’ voice to have direct impact on the mandatory aspects of the program at 107 Squadron. Also recommended was greater youth engagement, this was also achieved with the survey by allowing the senior cadets to have input on the contents of the survey for which they added questions.
A second theme was focus on program delivery and continuous improvement, whereby it was recommended to build training evaluation capacity into the program (Cadets Canada, 2010). The 107 Feedback survey uses this recommendation as well, as the survey can be used each year. The survey also asks about mandatory and optional training in order to cover all aspects of training to ensure all aspects are delivered well and improved upon if necessary.
The growth initiative also recommended ensuring efficiency at the local cadet units to ensure that the fundraising that does occur is able to have a large impact (Cadets Canada, 2010). As 107 Squadron has been struggling with fundraising activities a page was dedicated to ensuring cadets were aware of fundraising initiatives and to find out what could be done to ensure efficiency with the fundraising that already occurs.
Another study done by Cadets Canada as part of their growth initiative was a youth advisory ePanel to advise the cadet leaders on ways to improve the program (Cadets Canada, 2011). It was again recommended to increase youth voice and engagement in the program, as well as improving the quality of instruction. A specific question is asked about the quality of instruction in the 107 survey, as this is also a concern at 107 Squadron among senior cadets and staff. Another recommendation was to change up parade nights, therefore questions were asked in the 107 survey about the inclusion of sports nights and official parade nights. As well it was recommended to review the ways that squadrons communicate with cadets, therefore this was also addressed in the 107 survey.
The objective of this evaluation is to give an indication to 107 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of the current program implementation and outcome effectiveness of their program. This evaluation will verify if the program is meeting the needs of the cadet participants and that it is being implemented according to the standards set out by Cadets Canada. The findings of this evaluation will allow the staff at 107 Air Cadet Squadron to make changes to how they implement their skills training to allow them to better serve the youth of the Squadron.
On order to grow, 107 Squadron wanted feedback from cadets, parents, staff, and the public who have an interest in 107 Squadron’s activities. This feedback would increase the benefits of the program, and streamline the process to deliver what program participants (the cadets) want in their program, to increase retention, and therefore increase the growth of 107 Squadron. A survey is one method to facilitate 107’s growth initiative.
This evaluation addressed the following questions:
1) Are participants satisfied with the current 107 training structure?
2) Is the program attracting participants in the most effective manner?
3) Is the program marketing itself to receive adequate resources?
4) Is the Sponsoring Committee operating effectively?
5) Is the cadet mess committee operating effectively?
If you would like a copy of the survey, or to learn more, please contact us here.
References
Cadets Canada. (2010). Maximizing the cadet program’s potential: Cadet population growth initiative (CPGI) master implementation plan (MIP). Ottawa: Canada.
Cadets Canada. (2011). Youth advisory ePanel (YAP) 2011: Summary of discussion #1- Keeping more cadets in the program longer. Ottawa: Canada.