Military recruitment and retention
Significant challenges in recruiting and retaining military personnel, mirroring issues faced by allied nations.
250 items
4 sources
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
95match
#82 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions said workforce recruitment, skills and retention were “the biggest challenge for the industry and the enterprise collectively.”129 City of Glasgow College, one of the biggest trainers of Scottish shipbuilders, agreed that “Scottish shipbuilding cannot succeed without addressing chronic shortages in labour and skills.”130 Witnesses identified several challenges facing the shipbuilding sector...
Matched on
terms: military, recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
91match
#11 - Increased armed forces visibility and engagement positively impacts military recruitment and preparedness.
This should also allow other departments, society and industry to be more aware of, and therefore more prepared for, the potential challenges ahead—relieving pressure on Defence to focus on its principal tasks during a national emergency or conflict. Greater visibility and engagement of the armed forces with society should also have a positive impact on military recruitment. (Recommendation,...
Matched on
terms: military, recruitment
Committee recommendation
91match
#17 - Department plans to fix F-35 personnel recruitment and retention, but full recovery takes time
The Department told us that it has plans in place to fix its recruitment and retention problems. The Department also told us that it has increased its recruitment of engineers significantly in the last two years. It has offered joining bonuses for certain professions and has increased the capacity of its technical training skills to enable more recruits...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
83match
#20 - Single Living Accommodation failing to meet recruit needs adversely affects recruitment and retention.
Single Living Accommodation (SLA) does not always meet the needs and expectations of today’s recruits, and this is having an adverse effect on recruitment and retention. (Conclusion, Paragraph 102)
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
82match
#26 - Armed Forces credibility undermined by persistent recruitment and retention challenges and workforce pressures.
However, for deterrence to be effective, the UK’s Armed Forces must be credible.81 Such credibility is undermined by widely reported recruitment and retention issues, with eight people leaving the Armed Forces for every five who are recruited.82 Despite the MoD’s assurances that it took this issue very seriously, it accepted that recruitment and retention is a problem and...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
78match
#8 - UK Armed Forces face persistent capability shortfalls and an unresolved recruitment crisis
There are multiple capability shortfalls within the UK Armed Forces. For that reason, we welcome the decision to maintain the Albion-class vessels in operational service until their out of service dates in the 2030s. However, we are also increasingly concerned about the ability of the Armed Forces to attract and retain personnel. Whilst we welcome the Government’s recognition...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
77match
#108 - UK Armed Forces face significant capability shortfalls and unresolved personnel recruitment crisis.
There are multiple capability shortfalls within the UK Armed Forces. For that reason, we welcome the decision to maintain the Albion-class vessels in operational service until their out of service dates in the 2030s. However, we are also increasingly concerned about the ability of the Armed Forces to attract and retain personnel. Whilst 221 Defence Committee, Ninth Special...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
74match
#76 - UK Armed Forces face significant recruitment challenges competing for national talent
The Chief of the Air Force highlighted the difficulty in recruitment presented by the UK labour market which had 1.3 million vacancies at the start of 2023.160 The First Sea Lord described the Armed Forces as being “in a battle for national talent” which required the Armed Forces to be “as attractive a place as it possibly can...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
74match
#15 - Ministry of Defence reviewing housing estate to address poor conditions and recruitment issues.
We raised concerns about the Ministry of Defence housing estate.26 The Chief Executive of the DIO told us that the Ministry is undertaking a review of the housing estate in order to address poor condition. As part of the review, it is considering maintenance, private funding, disposals and redevelopment.27 Prioritising this review will be important for addressing ongoing...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
70match
#75 - MOD acknowledges significant recruitment shortfall: five new personnel for every eight leaving.
The MOD publicly concedes that for every eight service personnel who leaves, it currently recruits five people, although we understand the situation may have deteriorated further.159
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
70match
#20 - Poor quality accommodation significantly impacts defence personnel retention and engagement
The Department acknowledged that providing poor quality accommodation negatively impacts its personnel. Most significantly, it increases the risk that people leave the service earlier than they otherwise would.41 This is a serious risk given the problems with retention that the Department has set out and the length of time it takes to train specialist staff such as engineers.42...
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
69match
#78 - Significant pinch-point shortages in technical trades severely limit UK Armed Forces capability
In November, the Secretary of State told us that recruitment and retention was an area of concern for him given that in September 2023 there had been “183 pinch points, of which 61 were assessed as having a significant or acute impact”.163 The Minister for the Armed Forces echoed this: The existence of these pinch-point trades where we...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
69match
#4 - Prioritise investment to complete RAF Marham accommodation improvements much earlier than 2034 timescale.
Accommodation at RAF Marham is substandard, exacerbating issues with recruitment and retention. Despite the urgent need to address this, upgrades will not be completed under current plans until 2034. RAF Marham has been the main F-35 operating base since 2013, with at least 1,500 people working there on the F-35, many of whom also live in accommodation at...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
66match
#28 - Mishandling Modernised Accommodation Offer caused personnel grievance, impacting morale and retention.
By mishandling the implementation of the Modernised Accommodation Offer (MAO), the MOD has created a situation in which groups of service personnel are now more likely to feel aggrieved, whatever form the scheme takes. With a limited supply of housing, some personnel will inevitably lose out. It is vital that the Government manages the morale and retention consequences....
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
65match
#13 - Implement a holistic approach to recruit and retain a skilled GCAP defence workforce.
Building and maintaining a skilled workforce will be crucial to GCAP’s success. With the defence industry facing fierce competition from other sectors for skilled workers, it is essential that a holistic approach is taken to recruitment and retention. GCAP offers a welcome opportunity to attract new talent into the UK’s combat air industry, but the focus cannot just...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
PFD report
61match
Youngson Nkhoma
Non-UK military selection candidates are not screened for sickle cell trait, posing a significant increased risk of death or collapse during military exercise.
Matched on
terms: military
PFD report
61match
Neil McDougall
Military debriefs lack individual trauma support and promote alcohol use over discussion. The resettlement process for leavers fails to provide mandatory comprehensive mental health assessments, leaving ex-personnel reliant on external services.
Matched on
terms: military
PFD report
61match
Jonathan Cole
There is a critical shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists within the Ministry of Defence, impacting serving personnel's access to appropriate mental health diagnosis and treatment, compounded by ongoing recruitment difficulties.
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
61match
#18 - Operational demands create personnel retention issues and growing capability shortfalls in services.
Personnel need time to recover from operations, and time to train and develop new skills. But the demand of operations makes that harder to achieve. It is unsurprising that more people are leaving the Forces than joining them. All three services have growing capability shortfalls—these have been a feature of our inquiries over the course of this Parliament....
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
61match
#81 - Reserve forces recruitment challenging, lacking mass required for large-scale conflict
Both the Chief of the General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff told us that they were trying to grow their reserve forces but were concerned by their ability to recruit.171 Conversely First Sea Lord felt that “recruiting reserves is in some areas proving easier” than recruiting regulars.172 Despite this, the Maritime Reserve still saw a...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
61match
#12 - Ensure retention of high-calibre staff at UK Missions to the United Nations.
The Government must ensure the retention of the high-calibre staff at the UK Missions to the United Nations and it should outline a clear strategy detailing how it plans to retain these staff. When the Government is clear on the structure and composition of the FCDO following its restructuring, it should, as a matter of priority, provide this...
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
61match
#3 - Produce radical plan to recruit and retain highly skilled F-35 personnel, including accommodation and pay.
The F-35 programme faces an unacceptable shortage of several types of personnel, including engineers, cyber specialists, pilots and qualified flying instructors. The Department acknowledges that there are significant shortages of engineers in the F-35 programme, and that this is an impediment to operating the aircraft more often. This shortage reflects a shortage of engineers across the armed forces,...
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
61match
#12 - Fourth Report - Operation Isotrope: the use of the military to counter migrant crossings
Furthermore, this operation distracts from other Defence tasks, which is a particular concern given the shortfalls we identified in our recent Report ‘We’re going to need a bigger Navy’. The operation will likely have long-term impacts on training, personnel leave allocation and asset maintenance. It is also unclear why Op Isotrope is not being funded under the normal...
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
61match
#83 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
A further challenge relates to retaining existing staff. Witnesses told us that uncertainty about future workloads could lead to staff leaving their roles. John Howie of Babcock said: “There are inherent inefficiencies in ordering a batch of ships and then not ordering anything for four, five or six years. It is hard to retain workforces.”134 Richard Powell of...
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
60match
#5 - Third Report - Defence Space: through adversity to the stars?
Defence faces particular challenges in recruiting and retaining space specialists. We were encouraged by the Minister for the Armed Forces’ support for a more flexible approach to recruitment and career management within Defence, and we support the use of secondments to and from industry. But changes must be made at pace if we are not to fall further...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
60match
#25 - Fifty-Second Report - Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan 2021–31
The condition of the Department’s estate is set to continue to decline despite an additional £500m to be spent on ‘preventative’ maintenance until March 2025.55 Service accommodation remains in a very bad way which risks harming recruitment and retention of personnel with key skills. The Department told us it recognised the need for investment in the estate and...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
PFD report
57match
Alexander Tostevin
Military mental health care lacks independence, potentially causing underreporting of symptoms due to disclosure fears. The absence of a composite risk assessment and DCMH's primacy in MDT meetings can lead to inadequate risk management.
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
57match
#34 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
The UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce’s report should identify the skills demands of the warship industry specifically, as well as steps that can be taken to meet those needs.
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
57match
#74 - Army recruitment by Capita consistently falls short of targets, especially in critical professions.
In January 2024, we took evidence on Army recruitment from Capita with which the Army has a contract to administer recruitment services.156 We heard that in 2022– 23, Capita recruited 68% of the target number of people that the Army said it required to maintain the workforce. In 2023–24, it expects to recruit 70% of the target number...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
57match
#14 - Prioritise retaining Typhoon workforce and securing export orders to bridge Tempest production gap.
Retention of the existing Typhoon manufacturing workforce, made more challenging by dwindling production runs and the gap until full-scale production of Tempest is underway, must be a priority; and securing further Typhoon export orders to ensure a consistent pipeline of production will be critical to achieving this goal. (Recommendation, Paragraph 92) 31
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
57match
#13 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
To enhance its relationships with the Scottish shipbuilding sector, the National Shipbuilding Office should, by the end of 2023, establish a permanent staff presence in its Edinburgh hub, as the MoD and NSO have indicated. (Paragraph 40) The shipbuilding pipeline
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
53match
#30 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
Building on the work of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, the Ministry of Defence should commission regular research to develop and keep up to date its understanding of the current and future skills profile of the shipbuilding workforce, and the skills needed by the shipbuilding sector. Given education and skills are devolved matters, we equally encourage the Scottish...
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
52match
#46 - British Army suffering significant capability deficiencies across equipment, logistics, and readiness levels.
General Sir Nick Carter told us that the Army was the “weakest service” and that it had “significant capability deficiencies”.71 Both Dr Simon Anglim and General Lord Houghton questioned whether the UK could field the heavy division which is committed to NATO without an Ally providing a Brigade.72 Professor Malcolm Chalmers questioned whether any such division could be...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
52match
#17 - Overtasking Armed Forces threatens UK warfighting readiness and personnel well-being.
It is a matter of national pride that whenever the Armed Forces are asked to carry out a task, they will find a way. It is to the credit of the Armed Forces that they have 56 Ready for War? sustained this effort for so long. But overtasking has both a personal cost for service personnel and an...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
49match
#73 - UK Armed Forces suffer significant net outflow and critical skill shortages in key areas.
The Haythornthwaite Review (examined in the section below) found that in 2022 there was a net outflow (the difference between the number of people leaving and those joining) of 4,660 from the UK Armed Forces with the “overall voluntary outflow rate increasing to 6.0%, up 1.7% from the previous year”. In the past decade the forces’ proportion of...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#16 - Resolving F-35 engineering personnel shortages will take three to four years
The Department acknowledged that the shortages across all these roles were very important, with the Chief of the Defence Staff stating that personnel had been one of his top two priorities in his previous role as Chief of the Air Staff. The Department told us that the training time required for engineers meant that it would take three...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#15 - F-35 programme plagued by critical shortages of engineers, pilots, and flying instructors
The F-35 programme suffers from personnel shortages across a range of occupations. A 2024 review of the programme, by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA, formerly the Infrastructure and Projects Authority), stated that shortages of suitably qualified engineers represented the biggest threat to delivering F-35 capability. These shortages have been exacerbated by the Department miscalculating how...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#14 - F-35 aircraft availability compromised by persistent personnel shortages and global support solution reset
The Department also set out the reasons for poor availability of aircraft. It accepted that shortages of personnel, particularly engineers, impacted aircraft availability, and would continue to do so until they were resolved.30 Furthermore, the Department told us that the Global Support Solution, which supplies spare parts, is being reset by the United States so that it 22...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
48match
#15 - 8th Report - AUKUS
The development of new SSN facilities in Adelaide and Perth could pose a risk to workforce retention at the UK’s equivalent facilities in Barrow-in- Furness and Plymouth. The MOD must closely monitor workforce flow as the design and build of SSN-AUKUS progresses, and should ensure that efforts to streamline workforce movements do not inadvertently create a detriment to...
Matched on
terms: retention
Committee recommendation
48match
#57 - RAF's peer-to-peer warfighting capability questioned due to inadequate platforms, pilot shortages, and unsuitable munitions.
Both Generals Lord Houghton and Sir Nick Carter questioned the RAF’s ability to engage in peer-to-peer warfighting. General Lord Houghton suggested that the RAF had “good kit” in relation to its platforms and weapons but not enough of them—and a pilot shortage problem.110 He went to note that the RAF was rarely asked to carry out a short...
Matched on
terms: military
Committee recommendation
48match
#10 - Breadth of UK Armed Forces commitments delays warfighting readiness development
The UK Armed Forces have sufficient Readiness for operations—they can carry out standing operations and contingent commitments. However, the breadth of their commitments is having an inevitable impact, in terms of budget requirements, subsequent constraints on training and the retention of personnel. It also appears to be delaying the development of warfighting readiness.
Matched on
terms: retention
PFD report
45match
Dean Hutchinson
The wording in the modification to the Fire Diary gives equal weighting to options when the evidence supports a preference for reviews to be undertaken before a change of use or structural alteration takes place; this wording should be reviewed.
Matched on
classifier match
PFD report
45match
William Savage
Intelligence regarding frequent "PISTOL hits" was inaccurately circulated, leading commanders to believe a route was cleared when it was not. More detailed consideration is needed before removing threat warnings.
Matched on
classifier match
PFD report
45match
Mark Foley
Driver inexperience and the commander's failure to wear a safety harness, due to permitted discretion and lax enforcement of standing orders, led to the fatal incident.
Matched on
classifier match
PFD report
45match
David Efemena
A cadet training site lacked defibrillators and AED-trained first aiders, with challenging emergency access. There were also ineffective communication checks between staff and cadets at night.
Matched on
classifier match
PFD report
45match
Darren Neilson
The tank was able to fire without the BVA assembly being present, a hazard not adequately considered during production and manufacture. There was also no written process to check for the BVA assembly's presence or confirm when it should be removed and stored.
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
45match
#13 - Shortage of adult volunteers hinders cadet expansion, requiring improved support and remuneration.
The Council explained that each of the armed forces would decide how to accommodate more cadets, through a combination of increasing the size and number of cadet units. The RFCAs would then support the chosen approach.18 The Department said that there was no lack of interest in young people wanting to join the cadets. However, the Department stressed...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
44match
#18 - F-35 personnel at RAF Marham face unacceptable, low-quality accommodation and insufficient amenities
RAF Marham has been designated the F-35 main operating base since 2013 and now has at least 1,500 people working at the base to support the F-35 fleet, many of whom also live there.38 A 2025 NISTA programme review found that most of the accommodation offered at RAF Marham was the lowest-quality category of Ministry of Defence accommodation....
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
44match
#12 - 8th Report - AUKUS
Whilst the groundwork has been laid for growing the nuclear workforce, the scale of the recruitment needed to deliver AUKUS calls for more creative solutions. These should harness existing strengths, such as the world- leading skills academies run by UK defence primes, and use the unique recruitment opportunity presented by the trilateral partnership to tap into new sources...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
41match
#64 - Defence faces skills and capability shortages in medical, cyber, intelligence, and engineering professions.
In July the Chief of the Defence Staff told us that, as well as in medical and health, there were also skills and capability shortages in cyber/digital127 and in addition, the MOD Annual Report and Accounts highlighted intelligence as a “key workforce capability area for priority action”. The shortfall in those professions (alongside engineering) is now being addressed...
Matched on
classifier match