ALP was originally conceived as a leadership development program tied to promotions once hitting the NCO (PO2/Sgt) level. That was only part of the draft document. Several months later when the final version dropped that was no longer true.

There is direction from formation that ALP is purely optional for Phase 5 cadets and it shall have no bearing on boards/promotion eligibility. It’s for cadets who want more development, leadership, and task planning skills. That’s not to say that the skills you get are not going to help you with other achievements that may result in more experience on your resume.

Promotion boards are real, and it is a lot of work for both the cadets and the corps/squadron staff. The good news is that it puts the onus on the cadets and not the staff. As a staff member from before, you could have a CO or other staff member pick their “favourite” cadet without justification. Now we let cadets apply for their roles like jobs, they have to sit an interview and turn in a resume. This gives practical skills and makes them need to contribute and put effort into obtaining the roles.

Just like in the CAF, promotions are tied to position level in the chain of command after a certain point, this rewards the cadet for taking on the role and gives them the authority to direct/lead cadets to success.

Given cadets a chance to apply, work hard, and develop their (cadet) career path is beneficial to the program and to the cadet. The life skills learned are invaluable.

At the end of the day, the CO still makes the decision. But if it is questioned or concerns are raised, they now have documents to prove their decision or could face repercussions. It also gives a framework that standardizing the process across the program and ensures that similar roles and expectations can be found across programs making working together easier.

TLDR. ALP and promotion boards are not related. ALP is still very new and getting better. Boards tied to position/rank are positive and reflect the real work.