Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
Produce radical plan to recruit and retain highly skilled F-35 personnel, including accommodation and pay.
Conclusion
The F-35 programme faces an unacceptable shortage of several types of personnel, including engineers, cyber specialists, pilots and qualified flying instructors. The Department acknowledges that there are significant shortages of engineers in the F-35 programme, and that this is an impediment to operating the aircraft more often. This shortage reflects a shortage of engineers across the armed forces, which the Department is attempting to tackle with retention bonuses and increased capacity to train new recruits. However, the Department accepts that for F-35s this shortage had been exacerbated by its miscalculation of how many engineers are needed per aircraft. Even now that this mistake has been identified and funding provided for the 168 additional posts required, representing a 20% increase, it will take several years to resolve the shortage. The Department also acknowledges that there are significant shortages in other roles including cyber specialists, pilots and flying instructors. In 2025 only 5 out of 16 flying instructor posts were filled. recommendation The Department should produce a more radical plan to recruit and retain the highly skilled personnel necessary to work on and operate the F-35. The plan should include reference to accommodation as well as pay and other benefits that together provide an attractive offer over the long term.
Government Response Summary
The government rejected the recommendation for a specific F-35 workforce plan, stating it will address recruitment and retention challenges through the ongoing RAF People Campaign and by continuing existing initiatives like financial incentives and recruitment policy adjustments.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government agrees with the requirement to address the known recruitment and retention challenges through a holistic approach but disagrees with the recommendation to produce a plan specifically focused on the F-35 workforce. Instead, the department will address this recommendation through the ongoing RAF People Campaign that sets out challenging targets for the RAF to achieve workforce balance. The Armed Forces continue to expect challenges recruiting for key skills where there is strong competition in the labour market including cyber, digital, healthcare & medical and engineering. Retention remains a key priority and an evidence-based approach, drawing on survey data, feedback, and wider engagement to understand the issues affecting personnel continues to be taken. A range of targeted measures have already been introduced to address immediate pressures, particularly for some specialist areas where there are workforce capability gaps. These include financial retention incentives, increased opportunities for Extensions of Service, broadened eligibility for Standard Learning Credits, and an uplift to disturbance expenses for personnel returning to the UK or moving between overseas locations. RAF Recruitment & Selection have driven through no less than 130 adjustments to recruitment policy already, introducing education reform, fitness reform and most recently health reform to the recruitment approach, these initiatives have ensured that the RAF has seen more individuals enter Formal Training than at any time over the last 15 years.