Recommendation 74

In January 2024, we took evidence on Army recruitment from Capita with which the Army has a contract to administer recruitment services.156 We heard that in 2022– 23, Capita recruited 68% of the target number of people that the Army said it required to maintain the workforce. In 2023–24, it expects to recruit 70% of the target number (although three quarters of the way through the recruitment year it had successfully recruited barely half).157 In relation to the ‘pinch point’ professions, the Army had given Capita 73 specific professions where recruitment was necessary—in two of them (HR and Communications Specialists) current recruitment was only one in five (22%) of the target number but against others (“Paras, combat med techs, vehicle mechanics, dog handlers and police”) we were told that recruitment was within 10% of the target. We have requested a full list of the requirements and Capita’s performance against those targets.158