Sunday Express

Army stops chasing new recruits abroad

- By Marco Giannangel­i DEFENCE EDITOR

ARMY chiefs have stopped recruiting Commonweal­th soldiers from abroad to fill chronic gaps in its staffing levels.

In January, teams from both the Royal Marines and Army were sent to South Africa in a bid to encourage 1,350 Commonweal­th soldiers to sign up.

India and Australia were also going to be targeted as part of the ambitious scheme.

But last night, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) admitted that, while the target was still in place, no further recruitmen­t teams will be sent abroad during this fiscal year.

An MOD spokesman said: “The Army is not sending [further] teams to Commonweal­th countries to recruit.”

January’s recruitmen­t drive netted 50 soldiers and 42 Royal Marines who should be graduating within the next few weeks.

The successful candidates began training in Britain just two months after passing their initial interview.

But under the Army’s controvers­ial outsourcin­g deal with recruitmen­t giant Capita, British candidates can expect to wait 18 months. One NCO who took part in the recruitmen­t campaign in Pretoria, South Africa, told the Sunday Express: “It was smooth and successful.

“We were accompanie­d by some MOD civilians but to the best of my knowledge, no one from Capita. It’s what recruitmen­t used to be like.”

Lt Gen Tyrone Urch, commander of the Army Home Command, is thought to be behind the drive to bring in military personnel from abroad. The National Audit Office recently found the Armed Forces is 8,200 members short of the required level.

The Army, in particular, is down by more than 5,000 personnel, with Scottish regiments the worst hit.

A report by the Commons Defence Select Committee blamed the shortage on Capita, which has a 10-year contract with the MOD to recruit staff.

But publicly, the Army – which is locked into a contract with a reported £50million penalty clause until 2022 – has defended the partnershi­p.

Last night, one prospectiv­e Army recruit said he had waited for nine months to get an interview before switching to the Royal Navy, which does not use Capita.

Will, from Newport, South Wales, said: “The communicat­ion was poor and it took ages just to get an interview. I gave up – and I’m sure many others do, too.

“It does seem slightly unfair that the military is taking the recruiting process abroad and allowing them to face all the tasks in a couple of weeks.we never had that chance.”

While recruiting Commonweal­th citizens is nothing new, the practice was halted in 2013 after former prime minister David Cameron introduced tough new rules for migrant workers.

Three years later, in 2016, residency rules were waived to let in 200 Commonweal­th recruits and in November, the entire policy was reversed by former defence secretary Gavin Williamson to “sustain operationa­l effectiven­ess”.

At the time, Armed Forces Minister Col Mark Lancaster declared: “We’re stepping up the numbers of recruits from the Commonweal­th, knowing that they will bring key skills and dedicated service to our military.”

The decision to stop recruiting abroad comes as figures show thousands of existing Armed Forces personnel are failing fitness tests.

According to the MOD, 1,580 sailors, 740 serving soldiers and 1,260 members of the RAF did not pass their annual review last year.

An MOD spokeswoma­n said: “All personnel must regularly undertake robust fitness tests.

“Personnel who have previously failed are invited to be formally retested and receive guidance from military fitness instructor­s.”

 ?? Picture: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/EPA ?? WHERE’S THE CROWD? Prince arrives at event in Perth
Picture: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/EPA WHERE’S THE CROWD? Prince arrives at event in Perth
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SKILLS: Col Mark Lancaster

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