Army: Recruitment
(asked on 16th February 2024) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications to enlist in the Army were rejected in each of the last five years, broken down by the reason for rejection.
Reason | Recruiting Year (RY) 19/20 | RY 20/21 | RY 21/22 | RY 22/23 |
Age – Over Age | 43 | 80 | 39 | 42 |
Age – Underage | 5 | ~ | 6 | 6 |
Alcohol | ~ | 0 | 13 | 19 |
Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) Briefing Failure | ~ | 0 | ~ | 6 |
Appeal in Progress | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Appeal Outcome | 9 | 11 | 6 | ~ |
Assessment Centre Fail | 47 | 23 | 18 | 19 |
Attitude/Maturity | 80 | 128 | 106 | 93 |
Authority Rejection | 11 | 19 | 137 | 27 |
Basic Skills | 8 | 29 | ~ | 0 |
BMI | 232 | 16 | 20 | 9 |
Candidate not selected by Army Personnel Centre (APC) Glasgow | 0 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
Clearance – Care Order | 0 | ~ | 5 | ~ |
Clearance – Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) | ~ | ~ | 0 | 0 |
Clearance - Crime | ~ | 7 | 4 | 350 |
Clearance – Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) | 0 | 0 | ~ | 0 |
Clearance – Financial Issues | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Clearance – Nationality | 68 | 46 | 15 | 25 |
Clearance – Non completion of forms | 0 | 2166 | 1360 | 1140 |
Clearance – Piercings | 170 | 127 | 72 | 24 |
Clearance – Residency | 186 | 129 | 45 | 20 |
Clearance – Tattoos | 143 | 149 | 102 | 252 |
Clearance – Visa | 50 | 58 | 77 | 287 |
Commonwealth – No current vacancies | 463 | 6207 | 4832 | 4557 |
Commonwealth – Not Suitable for entry | 85 | 222 | 191 | 142 |
Consent Form not provided | ~ | 7 | ~ | ~ |
Continuing Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Criminal Convictions/Crime | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Current Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Delinquency/Crime | 534 | 629 | 336 | 0 |
Discipline | 9 | 5 | 5 | ~ |
Drugs | 67 | 11 | ~ | 0 |
Education | ~ | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Failed Basic Eligibility | 4750 | 279 | 260 | 280 |
Failed to Attend Event(s) | 335 | 236 | 199 | 188 |
Finance | ~ | 0 | ~ | 0 |
Fitness | 19 | 38 | 20 | 19 |
Family Origin Questionnaire Consent not given (SCT) | 0 | 0 | 25 | 19 |
Joining Other Service – Royal Air Force | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Joining Other Service – Royal Marines | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Joining Other Service – Royal Navy | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Language Ability – English Speaking & Listening | ~ | ~ | ~ | 0 |
Medical | 17443 | 18180 | 13832 | 14656 |
Motivation/Commitment | 110 | 414 | 201 | 116 |
No Vacancy Available | ~ | 7 | 176 | 37 |
Non-Productive Enquiry/Lack of Contact | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
None | ~ | ~ | 0 | 0 |
Other non-Military Employment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Prior Service Check Rejection | 838 | 1374 | 1055 | 671 |
Psychometric Test Result | ~ | ~ | ~ | 0 |
Refusal of Parental Consent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Start New Stream | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Terms and Conditions of Service | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Unsuitable at Interview | 16 | 28 | 7 | ~ |
Unsuitable for Job Choice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Waiver Refused | 7 | 8 | ~ | 0 |
Total Rejections | 25750 | 30657 | 23189 | 23100 |
Total Applications | 89114 | 90651 | 63580 | 58870 |
Rejections Percentage | 28.9% | 33.8% | 36.5% | 39.2% |
Source: Recruiting Group
Notes/Caveats:
- ‘~’ denotes a value less than 5, to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality.
- The information for Recruiting Year (RY) 2023/24 has not been included as the data is not yet complete.
- This data only represents Ordinary Applications to join the regular Army, including Commonwealth applications.
- Applicants can be rejected for multiple reasons, this data represents only the main reason for rejection.
- ‘None’ refers to applicants where there is no reason for failure recorded.