Defence Force recruitment numbers are below required targets as recruiters battle a strong civilian labour market and a high attrition rate.

A Defence Force spokesperson said recruitment was below required targets for the Army, in particular.

Forecasted Defence Force enlistments for 2022 were 935 – 243 for the Navy, 539 for the Army and 153 for the Air Force.

As of March 31 this year, Defence Force enlistments for the year were sitting at 396 – 108 for Navy, 212 for Army and 76 for Air Force.

The Defence Force has been facing a high attrition rate following Operation Protect – the military’s posting at managed isolation and quarantine facilities – and voluntary exits for 2022 were 409 at March 31.

Enlistments for the Defence Force fell short of the 1041 target in 2021, with only 920 new recruits.

 

A Royal New Zealand Air Force spokesperson said the consequences of not meeting the target depended on a variety of factors including the difference between actual enlistments and recruit targets, which trade targets were not met, whether the shortfall was one-off or sustained and whether meeting targets was recoverable in the short-term.

A Royal New Zealand Navy spokesperson said: “Shortfalls in recruiting impact our ability to build a team that reflects the rich diversity of people found within New Zealand.”

A New Zealand Army spokesperson said: “When we don’t meet recruitment targets, there are many ways we remedy this including adjusting future intakes and providing additional support to recruiting.”

Defence Minister Peeni Henare said when a competitive labour market existed in New Zealand it was more challenging to recruit, so an impact was expected.

Henare said the Defence Force was taking a number of steps to mitigate the impact, including moving to online attraction events, increasing digital marketing initiatives, and making upcoming refinements to the application process.

Stephen Hoadley, Auckland University’s associate professor in politics and international relations, said the argument could be made that a shortfall in recruitment could put New Zealand at a disadvantage when cooperating with other governments and the shortfall should be addressed.

With the current conflict in Ukraine, Hoadley said he “would expect that this would be a very good time for the defence force to begin recruiting”.

He said the shortfall was likely in very specialised things like electronics, mechanical maintenance and computer operating, the like of which are very attractive in the private sector.

“You could lose one specialist and a whole crew could be paralysed until the position could be filled,” he said.

The Defence Force has a continuing problem with the private sector luring people away with higher salaries and this wasn’t something that was about to change unless the government gave more pay to Defence personnel, he said.