Army “should look to young unemployed to strengthen ranks”

The army should consider recruiting among the young unemployed if it wants to increase personnel numbers, state benefits agency UWV has suggested in a report out on Thursday.

A group of 19,000 job seekers under the age of 35 could take up defence ministry jobs in logistics, care, or work as mechanics, the report said.

Learning on the job schemes offered by the army should make joining the armed forces more attractive for those with unfinished training or little work experience, the UWV said.

The defense ministry aims to increase its personnel from 80,000 to 100,000 in 2030 and to double that number in the longer term.

The agency also said interest among job seekers in an army job has grown since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry of defence has already mounted several campaigns to recruit more people, including an introductory year, a new vocational college course, and a programme for students who want to become reservists at the Defensity College. Princess Amalia recently finished her training there.