Recent Navy graduates pose for their class photo. Photo: ADF.
The Australian Defence Force has launched a new recruitment campaign as it looks to arrest high separation rates and shortfalls in new recruits to the services.
Using the theme, ‘Unlike any other job’, the new campaign will seek to attract young men and women to a diverse range of roles across multiple domains, including air, land, sea, space and cyber.
The campaign debuted on Monday (29 July) across online, social media, digital audio, television and cinema platforms, and will also be displayed on 3D billboards in Sydney and Melbourne. It shows many of the typical capabilities people will work on, as well as the opportunities for travel and mateship.
It comes one year after ADF Careers was rebranded from the previous Defence Jobs, and nearly two years after the $20 million a year ADF recruitment partner contract was awarded to Adecco. At that same time, the 3-star Lieutenant General Natasha Fox was appointed to be the ADF’s first Chief of Personnel.
At the time, Region noted that the royal commissions into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and into veteran suicide and other related recent controversies were possible factors in Defence failing to meet its recruitment targets.
Post-pandemic, Defence has also had to compete with other technical industries in attracting sufficient recruits during a period of almost full employment.
A screenshot from one of the new campaign videos. Photo: Screenshot.
To this end, last year Defence put in place measures to try to arrest the number of personnel leaving the services, including a new bonus scheme and improved defence housing policies.
The $400 million measures saw some members offered a $50,000 bonus if they signed on for an additional three years past their initial return of service obligation (ROSO) period, while a review of defence housing policy was also promised.
Since taking over, Adecco has reportedly struggled to process ADF candidate recruits in a timely matter, resulting in a backlog across all three services. This culminated earlier this year with Defence insiders indicating that some candidates were waiting for more than a year to have their applications processed, and that Adecco’s performance was being closely monitored.
The ADF has an acute shortage of personnel in many STEM-related fields, as well as pilots, naval crews – particularly submariners – and cyber experts.
The 2020 Defence Strategic Update forecast a need to increase uniformed personnel by more than 30 per cent to 90,000 across the three services by 2040 in order to effectively operate the ADF’s future capabilities, but numbers have barely budged since that time.
Minister for Defence Personnel Matt Keogh described the ADF’s people as the most important Defence capability, “which is why we want to see more Australians take up a rich and rewarding career in the ADF”.
“The ADF offers opportunities no matter your talents or interests. Whether you want to be a coder or a sailor, an engineer or in the infantry, there is a role for you.
“A career in the ADF offers unique benefits, such as free medical and dental, housing assistance, and generous superannuation.”
