The Army is focused on recruiting young people who have earned more than just a high school diploma, hoping to reverse the yearslong deficiency of enlisted recruits. Last year, the Army fell 15,000 enlisted recruits short of its goal of 60,000.
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Over the next 90 days, the Army will begin implementing some of the changes to its recruiting strategy, but the wholesale overhaul of the department will take years.
One of the most significant changes the Army will rely on is forming of a professional group of recruiters as opposed to random soldiers assigned the task. The Army will use an aptitude test to identify soldiers with the greatest potential to be successful recruiters.
The Army has long relied on high school seniors or graduates to enlist and meet its recruiting goals. Still, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the Associated Press it is time for the Army to start reaching beyond that pool of recruits and start looking for applicants on job boards, like ZipRecruiter or Indeed.
“The vast majority of people who are out there making employment decisions are people who have more than a high school education,” Wormuth told the AP. “We need to figure out how to talk to that much broader labor market.”
As more tech roles in the military are becoming available working with computers, satellites, and artificial intelligence, Wormuth said the Army hopes to recruit more young professionals.
Wormuth added the Army is not abandoning the high school market “by any means,” but the hope is by the year 2028 that, one-third of recruits will have more than a high school diploma, rather than the one-fifth currently.
The Navy and Air Force fell short of recruiting goals for the fiscal year that ended Saturday as well, though according to officials, both branches outperformed early predictions. Marine Corps and Space Force officials said both branches would meet enlistment goals.
THE ARMY IS HEADED TO COLLEGE — PART OF A NEW RECRUITMENT PLAN ANNOUNCED TUESDAY – AS IT LOOKS TO REACH ITS RECRUITING GOALS.
THE ARMY SAID IT FELL ABOUT 10,000 RECRUITS SHORT OF ITS GOAL OF ADDING 65,000 IN THE PAST FISCAL YEAR THAT ENDED SATURDAY.
AS PART OF ITS NEW RECRUITMENT EFFORTS – THE BRANCH WILL NOT ONLY ACTIVELY RECRUIT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES – BUT ALSO POTENTIAL CANDIDATES ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES – USING DIGITAL JOB BOARDS – AND WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN LARGE CAREER FAIRS.
THE ARMY SECRETARY TELLING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – THEY ARE NOT ABANDONING THE HIGH SCHOOL MARKET BY ANY MEANS – BUT THE HOPE IS BY THE YEAR 2028 THAT ONE-THIRD OF RECRUITS WILL HAVE MORE THAN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA – RATHER THAN THE ONE-FIFTH CURRENTLY.
THE ARMY WILL BE CREATING A PROFESSIONAL RECRUITING WORKFORCE – USING A NEW APTITUDE TEST TO IDENTIFY SOLDIERS WHO HAVE THE BEST POTENTIAL TO BE SUCCESSFUL RECRUITERS.
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