Lengthy delay in application process to join the army leads to shortages

♦ Delays in the application process for army recruits has seen thousands of would-be troops drop out altogether, it was reported last night.

Over 100,000 applicants attempted to sign up, but only 7,500 became soldiers, according to The Sun, with a typical application taking around 300 days to be completed.

It leaves the army facing a potential shortage in troops, with it currently 4,000 soldiers short of the 82,000 it is supposed to have at any given time.

Every year, it needs to hire 10,000 to make up for the numbers who leave the service. The Ministry of Defence hired business outsourcing firm Capita in 2012 to help run recruitment for the army.

Some of the reasons why the backlog occurred in the process of hiring new soldiers was to do with extensive background and medical checks carried out on applicants.

However, around a third of potential recruits every year are turned away for being too old, too unfit or for failing educational standards.

Some 101,854 tried to join in the 12 months to September last year, but only 7,441 were successful.

In the same period 9,718 left – the second consecutive year where the number of people leaving outweighed those signing up.