Armed Forces "Running To Stand Still" As Recruitment Targets Missed

A study by former armed forces minister Mark Francois says the Army, RAF and Royal Navy are "running to stand still" as they struggle to replace the numbers leaving.

Mr Francois said in the year to April 2017 12,950 recruits joined the regular armed forces, but 14,970 service personnel left in the same period.

The army faces the biggest challenge as it needs to recruit 10,000 people a year to maintain its strength, but only managed to attract 7,000 entrants last year.

The report states: "The Royal Navy and the RAF are now running at around 10% short of their annual recruitment target, whilst for the Army the shortfall is over 30%.

"Constant pressure on recruiting budgets has only compounded the difficulty."

The study expressed concern about the army's outsourced recruiting contract with Capita which it says is "performing badly".

The report states the Ministry of Defence needs to do "far better" at recruiting people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds as they currently make up only 7% of the armed forces,

Mr Francois pointed out there is no BAME officer of two star rank, major general level, or above, in the military.

With women making up just 10% of the armed forces, more effort needs to be put into attracting female applicants, the report says.

The MoD's health assessments need to be externally reviewed as more than 14,000 candidates for the army were rejected on medical grounds in the year to February 2017, the study said.

Mr Francois called for schoolchildren to be educated about the importance of the armed forces as part of the national curriculum.

The MoD responded to the report saying:

"We thank Mr Francois for his report and agree that recruitment is one of the MOD’s top priorities. Joining the military offers the opportunity for a great career, learning new skills and gaining unique experiences not available in civilian life. We’re aware of and working on the issues outlined in the report, including investing in recruiting the next generation of talent, diversifying our workforce and increasing our reserve numbers."

A Recruiting Group spokesperson said:

“Applications to join the British Army remain strong and have increased significantly in recent years due to ongoing campaigns, including the recent ‘This is Belonging’ campaign. We have also made substantial improvements to the recruitment process which make it quicker and easier for people to join. These changes include the use of virtual reality technology, launching a popular fitness app, and creating a more streamlined application process.”