The Ministry of Defence has published the annual Defence in Numbers report, using infographics to depict the deployment of personnel, defence expenditure, and contribution to UK prosperity.
Last year, the report set out Defence’s ambition to increase female personnel to at least 15% of total intake and increase 10% of total intake. This year’s report included a commitment to reducing the gender pay gap, which stands at less than 1% in the Armed Forces and 12.5% among Ministry of Defence Civil Servants.
Cadets are mentioned only on page 19 of the report, giving the topline number of 126,000 cadets nationally.
The Future Reserves programme which aimed to achieve 30,000 trained Army Reservists by 2020 looks more unachievable than ever; the latest figures show numbers have dropped slightly in the last two years, rather than risen. Indeed, the latest personnel counts indicate a 25% reduction in applications this year, exacerbated by a 10% increase in people leaving the Reserve Forces in the same period.
In an article about Capita failing to bring in Army recruits on Forces Network, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Mark Poffley, said that in the three months to August 2018, the Army had recruited just 10% of the officer recruits and 7% of the other ranks it needed for 2018-19. Capita has held the contract for Army recruiting since 2012 and is planning a new recruiting campaign in 2019 to supersede the “This is Belonging” campaign.
The RFCA continues to support the Ministry of Defence in the regions to nurture greater support from employers across the public and private sectors. Our Employer Engagement team of staff and RFCA members continues to promote the Armed Forces Covenant and raise awareness of the benefits of employing Reservists.
Over the last decade, funding reductions have meant that the Reserve estate is maintained to no more than mandatory compliance standards; almost no preventative maintenance or improvements works are funded. The RFCA Estates team work tirelessly and resourcefully to provide the best possible places to work for the reservists in our region, making every effort to ensure retention isn’t compromised by the training facilities.
