V. Audit scope
Page 7 of 14
As previously mentioned, this audit is limited in scope. We have distinguished between individual and collective training in the military, as these training types are quite different—one tailored to individuals to prepare them for their careers and the other to a group according to its deployment. For this audit, our mandate is limited to individual training.
Reservists’ support and reinforcement role limits their access to positions within the CF and their length of employment is often quite short. There are also many differences in planning, assignments and deployments between regular military personnel and reservists. Our audit criteria specifically focused on regular military personnel. That said, reservists sometimes take training courses offered to regular ranking military personnel. Therefore, the CF could examine the extent to which our observations and recommendations can be applied to reservists’ circumstances.
This audit is also limited to national training establishments. These are the institutions that military personnel must attend to obtain IT&E accreditation. Other training establishments are not linked to IT&E, as they are often associated with collective training or provide training very specific to a particular service. An example would be the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre Land Force Doctrine in Wainwright, Alberta, where preparation for deployment overseas is given to land force personnel.
Finally, we visited 24 training establishments during this audit, where we interviewed personnel. These establishments were located at 11 CF bases throughout Canada, with a student population of approximately 17,800, of which 27% was Francophone. (The training establishments are listed in Appendix A.) These establishments offered nearly 500 courses, of which half fell into the basic-course category. We met with IT&E functional authorities in the various environments (Navy, Army, Air Force and the CDA) as well as individuals and groups at National Defence Headquarters involved in IT&E. In all, we met with more than 600 people, including close to 250 students from all environments and more than a dozen pilots from other countries involved in NATO training at Air Force facilities in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and Cold Lake, Alberta.
The students we met openly discussed their concerns and experiences with the IT&E system. The voices of these students are heard throughout the audit report and provide a snapshot of their perceptions and experiences.
Finally, a large volume of IT&E-related documentation was gathered and analyzed based on the audit criteria.
