UK Ministry of Defence, A MoD spokeswoman said:
“We welcome any report that contributes to serious debate on the Armed Forces. However, some of these assertions are incorrect and ill-informed, others are selective in their interpretation of recruitment practices and some of the evidence is out of date.
“A career in the Armed Forces provides amazing and unique opportunities for a wide range of people from all sectors of society and equips people with skills and qualifications that can be transferred to civilian life. The success of our people on operations reflects the standard of our recruitment processes. Joining the services is a life changing decision and is not taken lightly.
“Our recruitment practices avoid “glamorising war” and we refute any allegation that they depict warfare as “game-like”. Anyone considering a career in the Armed Forces is presented with clear information and all aspects of service life are discussed in detail, following a sensitive recruitment process.
“The Services do not target people under the age of 16. The recruiting process is designed to protect the interests of the applicants at every stage, regardless of age. During the recruit selection process, staff at the Armed Forces Careers Offices (AFCO) provide comprehensive written and verbal guidance to all potential recruits, in particular those under 18 years of age and their parents, regarding their terms of service and rights to discharge. Parents/guardians of applicants aged under 18 are required to complete a formal written consent form, which has to be witnessed by someone of standing in the community, before the applicant can enter service.
“Armed Forces careers must compete against other potential employers in a competitive environment and it is right that they have the opportunity to recruit people when they are legally able to leave school.
“The single-Service schools teams visit about 1,000 schools a year between them – only at the invitation of the school – with the aim of raising the general awareness of their Armed Forces in society, not to recruit.
“Retention initiatives are proving successful – more than 2000 soldiers have recently signed up to the Infantry Financial Retention Initiative to stay in the Army for an additional two years.
“Our resettlement programme – recently acknowledged to be in the forefront of best international practice – supports Service leavers entering civilian employment with 94% finding a job within six months of leaving the Armed Forces.
“The latest quarterly manning report showed that there had been a 4.3 per cent increase (810 people) in the number of new recruits who have joined the Armed Forces in the 12 months to 30 September 2007, compared with the 12 months to 30 September 2006. There had also been a 9.4 per cent increase (1,290 people) in the number of recruits who have moved into the trained strength of the Armed Forces in this period compared with the previous period. Separate statistics from the Army also show that there has been a 25 per cent increase in Army Infantry enlistments in this financial year 2006/07 compared with 2005/06.”
Background Information
1. All three Services undertake numerous and varied initiatives, both at national and local level, aimed at sustaining and increasing the level of recruitment to the Armed Forces. Awareness among young people is important as they are future tax payers and need to understand what their Armed Forces are about, regardless of whether they may have an interest in joining. These two separate goals of awareness and recruitment are addressed by separate organisations – the Schools Presentations Teams and the Recruiting/Presentation Teams.
2. The recent Green Paper on Raising the Participation Age [in full-time education] recognised the Armed Forces achievements and, in a specific case study, said that: 'The Services provide the opportunity to continue with constructive training and education for all recruits from every level of ability and achievement. They are the largest single supplier of Apprenticeships – in 05-06 alone, 8245 Apprenticeships were completed. Those who come from difficult social circumstances and with few qualifications are given the chance to acquire new skills and qualifications that not only prepare them to succeed in their chosen career, but are recognised outside of the Armed Forces.
3. In Sep 2000, the UK signed up to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which required all feasible measures to be taken to ensure that members of the Armed Forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take part in hostilities.
4. The Deepcut Review concluded that the Armed Forces should continue to recruit young people from school leaving age but that there should be a particular responsibility to apply appropriate standards of care for young people. The Department's policy on the care of Service personnel under 18 years has been revised and reissued in the light of the Review.
5. All three Services are well aware that, as the recent National Audit Office report confirmed, retention is more cost effective than recruiting. In the Armed Forces as a whole, retention rates are stable and we have seen no sudden outflow of personnel. Numerous initiatives are in place to improve retention including Commitment Bonuses, Re-engagement Packages, Financial Retention Initiatives and initiatives to improve work/life balance and working conditions at the front line. A New Service Complaints Commissioner is now operating and Armed Forces personnel can draw upon a new, independent watchdog.
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