A recent parliamentary response reveals that the UK Armed Forces have consistently fallen short of recruitment targets over the past five years.
The data, provided by the Ministry of Defence in response to a question from Rupert Lowe MP (Reform UK – Great Yarmouth), shows recruitment figures compared to targets for each branch of the armed forces, with particular focus on recent challenges faced by the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force.
Recruitment Targets vs Actuals (2019-2024)
| Financial Year | Royal Navy (Target) | Royal Navy (Actual) | Army (Target) | Army (Actual) | RAF (Target) | RAF (Actual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 4,190 | 3,520 | 10,110 | 9,590 | 2,900 | 2,970 |
| 2020-21 | 4,410 | 3,900 | 9,420 | 9,330 | 2,490 | 2,570 |
| 2021-22 | 4,350 | 3,550 | 7,360 | 7,230 | 2,670 | 2,620 |
| 2022-23 | 3,840 | 2,770 | 8,830 | 6,080 | 2,370 | 2,140 |
| 2023-24 | 4,040 | 2,450 | 10,450 | 6,720 | 2,560 | 1,800 |
The data highlights a growing shortfall in recruitment numbers for the UK Armed Forces, with 2023-24 showing a stark gap between targets and actual recruitment across all branches.
The Royal Navy met 60% of its target, while the British Army achieved around 63%, and the RAF saw the highest proportion of recruits relative to target, reaching 70% of its goal.
Branch-Specific Insights
The Ministry of Defence provided specific notes for each branch, shedding light on factors affecting recruitment:
- Royal Navy: Figures include Full-Time Naval Service personnel, such as the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, but exclude reservists and personnel on Full-Time Reserve Service. Targets focus on new entrants in Phase 1 training, excluding transfers or rank changes.
- British Army: The data reflects Regular Army recruitment only, excluding the Army Reserve, Gurkhas, and other reserve forces. The Army reduced its recruitment targets in 2020-21 and 2021-22 under its “Future Soldier” initiative, which focused on restructuring and modernisation.
- Royal Air Force: The RAF’s recruitment targets include both trained and untrained intakes. The branch has faced challenges due to external factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living pressures, which likely influenced recruitment interest and intake.
Government Response and Planned Actions
In light of the recent recruitment shortfalls, the Ministry of Defence has stated that the new government prioritises improving recruitment and readiness across the armed forces. Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, indicated that the Secretary of State has already made announcements aimed at enhancing recruitment efforts, with further measures to be unveiled.
Government announce huge changes to armed forces recruitment
The government’s response reflects a commitment to addressing recruitment shortfalls while modernising the force structure. The recent data underscores the challenges ahead as the Ministry of Defence seeks to attract and retain personnel amid evolving demands on the armed forces.
Well they might learn. RAF turned down white males. Accommodation is crap. Pay is too. And the people responsible for recruitment? Incompetent is a kind word eh? Some form of conscription will be needed. It really is that simple.
Well look at the outcry from all sides when something similar to conscription was discussed!
This week the world changed. Germany bringing in selective conscription soon. Sweden reintroduced it. The “melts” will just have to cope eh?
Conscription is not the answer. You need people long-term not for 6 months or a year or two. Anyway people’s attitudes have changed. No one follows the ‘old lie’ anymore.
Look at how the Swedish system actually works and learn something…
I lived in Sweden for a while and generally it got good feedback as it isn’t a one off but raining and then periodic retaining.
They are a lot of good guys in their system who would very useful if things went South.
Actually you can start by learning something. How about you start by not being condescending. Next, figure out what happens when no one ‘signs up’. The well off send their kids abroad. The poor are left with **** choices. You know what they will say about that. I don’t blame them either. This isn’t ‘Sweden’ my old fruit. If you want compliance, go elsewhere. Welcome to England.
No. We just need to fix, or at least drastically improve, recruiting and retention.
No-one wants conscription – not the regular forces, not the public (under 65!), not any political party, not the Government.
We have only ever only introduced it during a World War when we want armed forces numbers in the millions. We only postponed cancelling it after WW2 as we had 15 years of unrest in the colonies and brushfire wars all around the globe as we extricated ourselves from Empire.
We need mass. Now. War will not wait for that.
There was an article on Navy Lookout about recruitment and it didn’t make for happy reading. Part of the problem was that volunteers were not engaged with reliably. Some were left hanging around for a year or more. Needless to say they went away and did something else to live… Another problem was that initial acceptance processing was rejecting huge numbers of people. The impression from the article was almost as if some in the navy were expecting half trained people to turn up on day – not civilians and especially not 21st century kids. Nevertheless, the article reserved special… Read more »
A good way of pointing out the main problems. I know a lad who waited over a year to get into REME because of the agency concerned. Luckily he was persuaded to be patient and is now a happy lad covered in grease and servicing tanks ( his dream job ) The amount turned down is appalling too, they need face to face attention not algorithms.
Should have kept the old recruitment system and not used a civilian company that has never achieved recruitment numbers
Agreed 👍
Absolutely correct!
Outsourcing leads to tax avoidance by offsetting debt and other creative accounting negating the 5-15% saving.
I’m intrigued as to why journalists, MPs and defence staff are so reluctant to mention the name of the outsourcing company. Is there something being hidden?
Company name is Capita
Or, as we say in the real world, Crapita!
Who would want to join when governments cut the defence budgets, cut capabilities, crap accommodation, being thrown out like a used chew toy when you leave and when it takes ages to hear back ??
Big ambitions I know but I wanted to join the Navy and fly F35s, but with so few of them being bought and actual deployments few and far between is it worth the effort?
Yes. Its definitely worth the effort. If you are taking to this site to ask that question, I’d doubt you are that committed. Joining the RAF/RN to be a fast jet pilot is an incredible rewarding career. But it is extremely hard work, and not something you go into lightly.
Thanks for acting like you know me. But its a valid question, there are other careers and other jobs in the RN where i might actually get to do my job more often than once a year.
Robert knows about careers in the RN. He served on Aircraft Carriers in the FAA…which is why he answered your question when you mentioned F35s and the FAA.
You write some good stuff, Hugo. But don’t let false perceptions put you off a career before researching it properly. Being a fast jet pilot is extremely demanding and extremely rewarding. Look how busy the Typhoon force has been in recent years. F35 will be service for 40 odd years. That’s a huge amount of global Operations, deployments and exercises the F35 force will be involved in. From sea and land. Home and abroad. If you want it badly enough. Go for it.
Such pilots are in demand. You might even find yourself seconded to the test team based in the US. A FAA pilot recently landed one of the first F-35Bs on Kaga, the second of the Japanese Izumo class helicopter destroyers.
I would suggest no.
I have to admit when I joined pay and accommodation was never even in my head I think pay is fair in the army and from what I hear accommodation now is pretty good I think the main problem is using a civilian company for recruitment I’m hearing it sometimes taking 18 months to actually get in to young people that’s just a lifetime plus there adverts are just laughable who were they trying to appeal to with the praying during a section attack and the RAF gay stuff the military is made up of white working class lads that… Read more »
From what I have heard in conversations with people related to RAF recruitment, acne can be a disqualifying fact in not being recruited.
This is not a recruitment problem. This is a cultural problem.
Gen Z not interested, Governments have supressed patriotism. Many ex forces posting on you tube say they would not fight or join now for the elites. Think conscription would fail as no room in jails, what would they do with thousands refusing!
When you apply to join the Force’s. No-one is thinking about serving elites. You are thinking about having a great career and doing something genuinely rewarding.
Not I.
In 1976 there was nothing else.
The last thing I wanted to was run around dressed as a tree.
I got a trade, then got out.
And that’s the key difference today. That so many countries are facing.There are just so many more opportunities for young people now.
The point is, I did not fit your two criteria.
Apart from 2.5 years at Her Majesty’s Sovereign Base Holiday Camp at Episkopi, I could not wait to get out.
Ha. OK. Fair one.
Gen Z is interested and patriotic. They are just overall much better educated now. And young people have so many more options and opportunities today. University/apprenticeships are more accessible. A much wider array of careers are available now. The world is smaller and more accessible. More young people than ever are willing to look at careers outside of their home town.
The problem seems to be more a case of it taking too long from a person showing interest to being offered a post. Get rid of the external recruitment agency – they’re not fit for purpose. Set a target of, say, 2 months maximum between show of interest and job offer – anything more than this timeline would be, frankly, incompetence.
Absolutely. My son applied for both RN and RAF. My dad and I turned him off the Army. He comes from a military family. He gave up after no interest from either branch. He got himself decently fit before he applied. The recruitment is pathetic. He didn’t even have a contact to chase up. Back in the eighties I had a contact, a hard as nails Royal Marine Colour Sergeant who was marking time at the end of his 22. He made sure that when I expressed an interest, and gave some curt but well meaning advice, directing me to… Read more »
Did he pass the aptitude tests/ interview/medical?
2 months!? If you can meet the intake testing you can go to training in the US in two weeks!
But working on how it is now you have to be realistic.
Healey has ordered Capita to do something like this, and has scrapped 200 policies that hamper recruiting.
Could just scrap Capita – it would be far more beneficial.
Agreed, but it would probably cost a bomb to get out of the contract…
Cheers CR
Unfortunately from experience you cannot set a 2 month target. If the applicant needs a Specialist Medical or there are issues with security clearances it can take longer. All I can say is it normally could take up to 6 months if there was any issues that needed to be resolved.
‘If there are any issues that needed to be resolved’. Such issues should not be considered normal. Specialist medical? Why are they applying in the first place – but even so a conditional offer could be made based on passing any appropriate medical – if a candidate can’t cope with basic training… Likewise security clearances. Shouldn’t be that many. I hope. Fact is, special circumstances should not be the norm.Most people? Two months is more than adequate. Or should be.
Person comes off the street, discussion. Person comes back Aptitude Test booked. Person comes back, Aptitude Test taken, another discussion as to the trades available after the test, discussion. Person makes decision as to a trade that is suitable. Medical booked, Appointment with Dr made hearing Test completed Dr makes decision if fit for service of if Spec,Med required. Person comes back for interviews, decision taken if they pass. If security clearance required sent of to PSS. IF security clearance comes back okay then if there is still a vacancy the booked in for attestation and the to the relevant… Read more »
Fair enough. But 3 months is still a far cry from the long times being quoted currently – but is getting close to unacceptable for, say, a job in industry – and really for standard recruitment it’s not necessary in most cases. Discussion, application, interview, medical then provisional acceptance/refusal. Anything else – suitable trade apply after basic training, security clearance beyond basic training requirement done during basic training, base application on joining the service first, then everything else can be sorted later. Everyone joins as a trainee, trades come after. If it takes 12 months most people lose interest. It’s… Read more »
Hi Rob,
All I can say Capita isn’t working.l think that something needs to be done to resolve the issues of recruitment. I personally left the RAF on redundancy due to all the cutbacks in 1997. Governments are so short sighted and I was proud to serve my country for over 17 years
And well done, sorry you felt you had to leave. Capita is a disgrace – I would say they are possibly the ONLY reason there are recruitment problems! And spending should be 3 -3.5%
There’s also the question of spaces in specific trades. Only so many trade training slots are available at any one time, and sometimes the backlog is pretty hefty. So you might have a shortfall in, for example, REME mechanics, begging for applicants, but the wait list to get a spot for dog handling at the same time is 2 years.
You can offer a recruit an expedited training pipeline if they switch the career they’re applying for, but if they don’t want to take it, at that point, you can’t really force them.
Odd really in the cold war year’s manpower in all three services were reasonably good for the size of our nation and the world now is much worse .I do believe it’s a culture problem to a degree but has we know pay housing etc also an issue. However over the years cuts and service men & women more or less sack over night like in 2010 cuts didn’t help this gives the wrong singles to our young people .At the end of the day HMGs have to take some of the blame has a lot was they doing .
A quick Google uk has around 140k armed forces persons. If we say 150k target in 2025 . Give every member a Five thousand pound pay rise a year . That will be 750 million pound a year extra roughly ?
Considering the 10s of billions squandered wasted in govt every year , ilegal migrants in hotels costing us all at least several billion a year as one example .
Then 750million would be for me , pound for pound the most cost effective way of improving the armed forces .
Even accommodation could be sorted quickly .
That’s a good point, £750 million used like that would possibly reduce the exodus from the armed forces and put it back in rough step with recruitment.
If it made a 50% reduction in folks leaving, we could start to turn things around. As an emergency measure it has a lot of merit.
Time to bin crapita
Sometimes I can’t help wondering if they are secretly working for the Kremlin.
I wouldn’t be surprised they seem to drag the process out for months when I joined the army in 1978 flash to bang time was about three months
Sadly I’ts no great surprise.
What a surprise. I’d actually hazard that recruitment targets haven’t been met in the last 10 years, or probably since capita took over fullstop. In addition, these figures are inflated, they show anyone who has got past the initial interviews, but prior.to starting recruit training
The recruitment process, all on line is horrible. You never see or hear from a human. Very dispiriting, no wonder numbers, are down.
Out of a population of 68m, even the targets are modest numbers. It would be interesting to see the latest figures for applications. The last time I saw them, the conversion rate from application to appointment was very low, suggesting that the recruitment process is the major cause of the shortfalls.
It needs to be taken back in house asap
According to an article on Navy Lookout months ago the number of applications for the RN per day was a few tens of people – can’t remember the actual number it was a quite awhile ago now. I should also point out that at the time the RN ran its own recruitment system, not sure if it was partly outsourced, but whatever the setup it was still failing…
Cheers CR
As an ex forces veteran myself, I’ve tried multiple times to re-enlist, I’ve had issues with my knee (ACL) but nothing which can’t be fixed with a regular routine. Rejection after rejection from the civilian recruitment because I don’t tick the right boxes. Defense shouldn’t be about ticking boxes, it should be about who wants to defend their country
There are lots of veterans who are considered too old for reserves but are still fit and have a great knowledge base. I’m sure lots would consider doing something along the lines of a local defence force like the Baltic countries.
Who do you think you are kidding Mr Whitehead..
What do you think I wrong with his suggestion?
It was a play on words of the Dads Army theme tune….
Very good… I will now remove you from the list…
What age group are you thinking of and how do you maintain that military competency? Further, what specific role do you give them?
The Baltic countries are potentially facing a Russian Army coming across the border. What local invasions is Britain facing that would require a local defence force?
Get those convicted of minor crimes out of prison and into some kind of Land Army as they had during WW2 instead of having hundreds of fit young men AND women loafing around in prison cells all day long doing nothing and costing the country an absolute fortune. If the threat of having to spend two years or more as a conscript as punishment for their misdeeds it might make them think twice about causing the country and the general population so much grief. Everyone over the age of 16 is quite capable of knowing right from wrong and should… Read more »
Be really careful with this wish. Because if you start using Prisons as labour sources then you get incentives to incarcerate people, which is one of the reasons America has such a high arrest rate.
And they are still scratching their heads into why retention is poor!
We tell them why, do they listen?
Want to give us the world when we leave though. Absolute jokers! Word is getting out that it’s a shit show!
I did 2 tours at the RAF Careers Information Office in Liverpool as a Corporal Case Progress clerk and Sergeant Office Manager in the 1980s and 1990s, the second busiest office in the country and always met our recruitment targets!
The government at their time, always shortsighted never should have cut the ties between the civilian and military community!
Initial recruitment has been operated by the outsourcing company CAPITA. Since being awarded this contract, around 2012?? Every year they have fallen short of their recruitment targets. Do they not get invited to meetings to discuss their under performance and a plan to hit their targets the following year? Anyone involved in training or being trained, are the intake classes half empty or are they run half as often? I believe the time between initial contact and starting a training class can be as long as 9 months, in this time a number of candidates are lost to more immediate… Read more »
Many of us here have been pointing out the shortcomings, and abject failure of governments/politicians over the past few years, and them allowing bean-counters to decide what the Military wants and needs. As been said before, currently, no-one cares why ‘John, Robert, Mary and Methuselah’ want to leave the Army, Navy, Airforce and the RFA. No one cares that the mess hall is operated Group 4, and that the food for the most part is shite. No one cares that the pay is piss poor. No one cares that former refuse collection companies ‘own’ and operate military vehicles. One could… Read more »
I think most of the population hold the army forces in high regard. Just look at the crowds out pay their respects to day. The problem is that they do not understand the threat or the poor state of the armed forcces…
Cheers CR
That’s what you get when you don’t pay enough and have no commitment incentives beyond an average pension in 22 YEARS time.
Career officers in schools have long given up on suggesting the military. I remember in my RNR days 18-21 year olds being desperate to join the regulars but being told sorry, no vacancies – come back in two years. Decades of defence cuts have also destroyed traditional military families, where generation after generation joins up. Dig out any old issue of Navy News from the 1960’s or even 1970’s you are guaranteed to find a photo of a CPO proudly welcoming his JR son on board. Somehow the UK armed forces have to rebuild a perception that they offer a… Read more »
I think the lack of schools careers advice (if indeed that still exists) suggesting the military as career is probably more to do with the left leaning tendencies prevalent in education hierarchy rather than the lack of opportunities such a career path offers..Strange really considering the lack of other options open to the northern student demograph.
How about focusing on the most prevalent demographic – white males….