Toughest test for Army’s new recruits ... signing up

ALMOST half of would-be soldiers are giving up on the ‘abysmal’ online Army recruitment process, a report reveals.

Over 50 per cent of applications take ten months or longer to finish. During that time 47 per cent of applicants give up and just 14 per cent join.

The Army and outsourcing giant Capita had ‘failed dismally,’ the Commons public accounts committee said. It said Capita’s performance was ‘abysmal since it started’.

In 2012, the company was awarded a ten-year £495 million contract for recruitment but has failed to meet a target of 82,000 regular troops. Last year the Army was 5,600 short.

Half of applicants last year took 321 days to complete the recruitment process – from application to basic training.

The report said: ‘The length of time affects the conversion of applicants into new recruits.’

Capita has estimated that just 14 per cent of would-be troops join the Army and 47 per cent voluntarily drop out.

Capita said it had addressed problems with the contract.

An Army spokesman said it had shortened the application process to boost recruits.