Army 'Speeding Up' Process Over Recruitment Concerns

The Army has insisted it is trying to speed up its recruitment process, amid reports thousands of prospective soldiers are dropping out because of lengthy delays.

Only 7.8% of people who signed up within a 12-month period actually became soldiers.

For the Armed Forces as a whole, just 8.8% were recruited.

In the year leading up to September 2017, 108,021 applications were submitted to join the Army, while only 7,966 became 'intaken' personnel.

The service itself saw an increase in the amount of interest in joining as a regular - in March 2016 less than 60,000 showed an interest in joining. This was over 100,000 by the following year.

Last year a study by former armed forces minister Mark Francois, commissioned by Downing Street, said all three branches of the military were "running to stand still". 

An Army spokesman said: "The huge demand to join the Army is to be welcomed and our new recruitment campaign and fitness app means thousands of people are applying.

"We are working hard to speed up the process so recruits who meet our world-class standards can start their training as soon as possible."

The Ministry of Defence says that many individuals who wish to join are not medically or physically fit enough, and states that a large number have been turned away for this reason.

They add that some applicants simply decide they no longer wish to join, after finding out more information about what service entails.