Capita fails to meet British Army's annual recruitment targets for five years running

Continued delays

The delays were initially caused by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) failing to meet its own contractual obligations to provide IT infrastructure that could host Capita’s recruitment software, but delays continued even after responsibility for developing the whole system was passed from the Army to Capita in January 2014.

The main problems encountered by Capita involved the scale of the three Armed Services’ requirements, as well as the number of interfaces with other IT systems.

For example, the NAO report points out the Armed Services have over 250 job roles, each with different rules and eligibility criteria, which means new Army candidates have 27 possible pathways through the recruitment process.

The report claims Capita underestimated the level of customisation that was required for the new system.

Unable to use an “off-the-shelf” commercial solution that would have worked for most ordinary online recruitment systems, Capita had to develop a bespoke application, but the delays meant an automated approach to recruitment could not be introduced as originally envisaged.

“Our focus is now on working with the Army to deliver a recruitment process fit for the 21st century,” said a Capita spokesperson. “We have overhauled governance on the contract and are already seeing improvements, with applications at a five-year high and a reduction in the amount of time it takes candidates to join the Army.

“We are absolutely committed to getting this partnership right.”

The MoD was asked for comment but did not respond.

The Army and Capita have also highlighted a range of other factors they claim create barriers to their ability to recruit.

The most important of these appears to be the fact young people, the Army’s traditional target population, are less likely to join the Armed Forces, especially if they reached adulthood in the early 21^st century.

Public support analysis

A separate analysis of public support for the UK’s armed services found that, while most people hold military personnel in high regard, there is little support for the recent missions in Iraq and Afghanistan (which would have been highly visible in the public eye during the adolescent years of today’s young adults).

It is therefore possible that young people’s reluctance to serve in the military stems from changes in attitudes to armed conflict, something reflected by a fifth of under-25s in 2017 deciding not to participate in the Poppy Appeal on the basis that they feel it glorifies war.

The Army began reassessing its recruitment strategy again in March 2018, citing the need for a more coherent, resourced and supported governance structure as well as greater and more sustained expertise on contract management, among other things.

Part of the reassessment will also look at whether Capita’s online system can be adapted for future needs, although the Army does not have contractual rights to access the software source code until 18 months before the contract ends in 2022, making it difficult to test its future adaptability.