Recruitment and retention in the armed forces appear to have turned a corner after years of difficulty, the Public Accounts Committee has found, though it cautioned that the Ministry of Defence cannot say whether its own efforts are responsible or whether the improvement will last, the UK Defence Journal understands.
In its report on the department’s 2024-25 accounts, the committee said the latest public figures, for the year to October 2025, “point to a corner being turned, with the number of people joining the Armed Forces exceeding the number leaving”, a reversal after many difficult years for both recruitment and retention.
Processing of applications had sped up markedly, the average time between someone applying to join and starting basic training fell from 496 days in 2023 to 290 days in 2024. Between August 2025 and March 2026, the committee said, 50,816 applicants received a provisional decision within 10 days of applying and 19,428 were given a date to start training within 30 days. The improvement had been helped by a new electronic system allowing doctors to provide a candidate’s medical records, while initiatives such as a new direct-entry cyber pathway showed the department’s willingness to try new approaches.
On retention, the committee pointed to measures including a new housing strategy, wraparound childcare and improved pay. But it said the department “has not, however, analysed the cause and effect of its initiatives, despite being keen to understand which measures are having what effects”, knowledge that would help it attract people with the skills the armed forces need.
The committee made two recommendations, the department should “develop robust evidence about what factors affect the inflow and outflow of Armed Forces personnel and ensure that it closely monitors these factors”, and should “identify which initiatives to improve recruitment and retention are particularly cost-effective and ensure that these are applied more widely”.
The findings offer a rare note of encouragement in a report otherwise sharply critical of the department, though the committee’s central point is a cautious one: that an improvement whose causes are not understood cannot be relied upon to continue, and that the department needs to learn why the trend has turned if it is to sustain it.
Maybe it,s like when i joined in the 80,s which was a lack of employment aspects in civvy street, because Maggie had closed the mines shut the railways and virtually sold off everything.. so the choice i had was either YTS further education or the forces, Upside with the forces learnt to drive visited other countries and did stuff that well most civvies can only dream of…
Well as a Civilian, I also Learnt to drive, visited other countries and did stuff that I could only dream of.
Whilst also avoiding working down a Pit or on a Railway. 😁
Maybe It’s all the Immigrants finding employment 🤔
Maybe its some people actually realise ruzzia is a threat and willing to defend the nation.
Unlikely but possible.
Ha…. Maybe Government should realise that too.
Its so infuriating. The mess of the Armed Forces should be declared as a national emergency.
Whether if people support Ukraine or not, nobody can argue this is the closest to WW3 we’ve been in decades.
Yes but look at the positives…. erm, hang on… erm
Oh i found one!! Ukraine has significantly weakend ruzzia and it will take them several years rebuilding their capabilities thus buying us time.
Thats one…i think!