Of how much benefit will it be to have previous experience in a managerial position when applying for an Officer role?

Hi, great question. When applying for an officer role you will be required to answer questions such as, 'tell me a time when you have shown leadership' (as an example), being able to use experiences that aren't just from school, college, uni show you to be a more rounded individual. That said, lots of people join as officers who've not had any other jobs before. It might be that you've Capt'd the football/netball team instead or have helped a friend through a difficult situation. My advice would always be, do as much as you can with your life, get a job so that enables you to have experiences not just of the job role but the benefits of earning money (paying for your own hols, a car etc etc) -everything you do, all the experiences you have will make you a more rounded, more grounded and more humble individual which will stand you in good stead for being an officer. Good luck.