Defence Forces launches major campaign as it seeks 3,000 new recruits
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The Defence Forces has launched a major recruitment campaign to fill the 1,000 vacancies it currently has and to find an additional 2,000 personnel to bolster numbers in the army, naval service and air corps.
The ‘Be More’ campaign aims to recruit 1,000 people in the short term, bringing the Defence Forces up to their minimum required strength of 9,500.
The requirement for an additional 2,000 personnel was highlighted in recommendations contained in Commission on the Defence Forces Report, published last February. It is hoped these people will be recruited by 2030 at the latest.
The new recruitment drive was launched by Simon Coveney, the defence minister, and Defence Forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy at Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin.
The Defence Forces recruitment section worked with external companies and a market researcher to try to find out what young adults would seek from a career in the country’s military.
“Recruitment is the lifeblood of any organisation and no less so for the Defence Forces," Mr Coveney said.
"To attract and retain that talent means that what is offered in return must resonate with those we are seeking to recruit. This new recruitment marketing strategy, that I am proud to launch, is the culmination of the efforts of the Defence Forces, in partnership with industry experts, to ensure this.”
Mr Coveney said the marketing strategy aligns the desire to continuously improve and learn new skills with ensuring long-term career advancement, by demonstrating the opportunities and skills a career in the Defence Forces offers.
He said it couples the altruistic desire to serve the State with the benefit that “by serving your country you are serving your future self”.
In addition to seeking ordinary recruits, the Defence Forces will launch further drives to attract skilled people from the private sector.
It is short of cyber/IT specialists, medics, doctors, engineers, and ordinance personnel.
“This is a time of great change and opportunity for the Defence Forces, with the publication of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces," Mr Coveney said.
"The recruitment campaign is just a part of the process of facilitating the increase in strength required to underpin its recommendations and is an important step, given our current recruitment and retention challenges and my desire for an elevated level of ambition for the Defence Forces.”