For a start we don't wear crash kit so we can't get as close as RAF, secondly what can you tell me about dual media application and when and where you would use it?, I was RAF for 9 years and the airport FF is a different beast. Day to day stuff is is pretty much the same but can be a bit different and unlike the air force or many other civilian airfields at Heathrow we free range, the only time we speak to the tower is when we want a runway crossing. Granted our BA is the same (TB 1/97 or BAA FSS no 3). It is quite hard to pinpoint exactly what the difference is but it is. Heathrow for instance is just a mindf..... when you arrive there, you are on what they call stage 2 and 3 training, learn the layout of the airport 3000 acres, Terminals 1,2,3,4,5 and 5b (T5 can hold 50 full size football pitches, 5b alone is bigger than Edinburgh airport terminal), the cargo sheds and maintenance areas, several underground stations a couple of bus stations, you are expected to learn all this in your first year which is b......x as no one really knows the whole airport. After you have done your first year you then get your LFF modules another year goes past you get your bar up and you are then expected to do NVQ L10 L11 (don't ask as it's a waste of your time and company money). As Benfire said you could do the bridging course (they may still send you back to Teeside) but it can be pricey and you are not guaranteed a job at the end of it.
On the whole the RAF gives you a very high standard of training and get you ready for civilian life but there is still a lot of learning once you get there. Out of curiosity where have you served?
