Army’s main obstacle to recruitment is private sector competition

Competition from the private sector is the main obstacle to recruitment in the Armed Forces of Malta, according to a survey of European military associations and trade unions.

However, the survey published last month by the European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL), reports that AFM recruitment “increased somewhat” and retention of military personnel “increased significantly” over the past decade.

The Malta member in EUROMIL is the General Workers’ Union, which has a branch representing military and uniformed personnel. The data for the survey titled Recruitment, Retention In The European Armed Forces was sourced from member associations and not national authorities.

EUROMIL is made up of 37 military associations or trade unions from 22 countries, representing 500,000 soldiers and their families. Member associations from 12 countries took part in the survey.

According to the GWU’s replies most of the army’s new recruits are aged between 20 and 30. “Current personnel levels are mostly sufficient to meet national and NATO commitments,” the GWU reply states. Malta is not a member of NATO but forms part of the military organisation’s Partnership for Peace programme.

The GWU response notes that “technical specialists” are affected most by personnel shortages but adds that national authorities introduced “financial incentives” over the last five years to improve the situation.

Regarding retention, the GWU’s reply states that military personnel “most frequently” leave close to retirement because of better work-life balance, family reasons and reaching the 25 years of service threshold.

“To strengthen retention, national authorities introduced specific measures such as salary increases, bonuses and allowances, pension reforms, and flexible working arrangements,” the GWU reply states.

Responding to other questions about people’s willingness to defend their country and the attitude of young people towards military service, the GWU reply states: “Citizens have high willingness to defend Malta in the event of a major crisis or war. Younger generations have a more positive attitude towards military service compared to previous generations due to the increase in wages, advertisement from the Armed Forces media, and organisation of activities within military premises.”

Asked to identify the greatest personnel challenge for the next 10 years, the GWU identifies “competitiveness with the private sector”.

The survey found that the majority of respondents deemed the current recruitment and retention situation in their respective militaries either problematic or critical. Most frequently military personnel leave the armed forces within 10 years after joining.

The main obstacles of recruitment overall remain the competition from private sector and salaries. Retention levels were influenced by receiving better salaries and better work-life balance outside the military, family reasons, and lack of career opportunities. Non-commissioned officers, enlisted personnel and technical specialists are the most affected by personnel shortages, according to the overall findings.

The countries participating in the survey were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The findings come at a time when the European Union is placing greater emphasis on military and defence spending as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States’ disengagement policy under Donald Trump.

For the first time, the European Commission has a commissioner responsible for defence, a post created by President Ursula von der Leyen after the 2024 European Parliament elections.

The AFM received 65 new recruits last June after they successfully completed an intensive course lasting approximately 22 weeks. A total of 191 applicants had applied, of whom 87 successfully passed the selection process. Of these, 84 began their training in January, while 65 recruits successfully completed the course in June.