New tri-service recruitment service to streamline process for joining Armed Forces 

Serco Group has won an MOD contract worth up to £1.5bn to provide a new tri-service recruitment service, with the aim of making it quicker and easier for people to sign up to serve.

The contract will replace existing recruitment deals and will last for an initial seven years, with the option for three additional one-year extensions.

Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard made the announcement and said that a new, combined Armed Forces Recruitment Service (AFRS) will launch in 2027, replacing the individual schemes run by the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.

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"This Government is delivering for defence and taking decisive action to address recruitment and retention challenges within our Armed Forces," he said.

"For too long we have seen keen and capable prospective recruits failed by an outdated system full of delays and inefficiencies.

"Our innovative new Armed Forces Recruitment Service will help us attract top talent from across the UK – bolstering our national security as the foundation for our government's Plan for Change.

"By making it quicker and easier for people to sign up to serve, while maintaining the very highest standards, we will strengthen our Armed Forces and make the UK more secure. 

"Our ambition is for those who apply to serve our country to receive a conditional answer within 10 days and a training start date within 30 days.

"As global threats increase, we are making the changes necessary to get the brightest and best into Britain's military." 

Bars to service being removed

Mark Irwin, the chief executive of Serco Group, welcomed the partnership, saying: "It is a true privilege to support the UK's Armed Forces.

Our commitment to recruiting and retaining well-trained personnel reflects our deep understanding of the MOD's critical needs.

"This next-generation recruiting solution is the culmination of years of collaboration and innovation."

Last March, MPs were told falling levels of recruitment in the British Armed Forces was a profound national security risk.

And in September, Defence Secretary John Healey announced that potential recruits with acne or asthma would no longer be barred from serving in the Armed Forces.

Elsewhere, the MOD says that aspiring cyber professionals will be given the chance to enter a fast-track stream to become "cyber warriors" within a month.

The specialist recruits will receive one of the highest Armed Forces starting salaries of more than £40,000.