Minister Kehoe Announces New Defence Forces Recruitment Campaign

The Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr Paul Kehoe, T.D., announced today the launch of 2018’s first Defence Forces General Service Recruitment Competition with 480 places being made available. This years campaign aims to build on last year’s success, which saw the largest induction of personnel into the Defence Forces in the last 20 years.

This recruitment campaign is part of the Government’s commitment to maintaining a strength level of the Defence Forces, incorporating the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, at 9,500 personnel. An Air Corps Apprentice Aircraft Technician Competition has been running since the 5th March and already has over 460 applicants, an increase of 38% on last year.

Commenting on the launch of this campaign, Minister Kehoe stated, 'We achieved historically high levels of recruitment last year where we inducted 750 people to the Defence Forces. I am committed to ensuring we build on that this year and move towards the 9,500 strength level for the Defence Forces. Recruitment is the lifeblood of the Defence Forces and is vital to ensuring the ongoing health and development of the organisations capabilities.”

This year’s recruitment competition will build on the award winning #joinourteam campaign with a mixture of video focused social media ads, immersive online gaming experiences, outreach through local media and a female focused element to enhance the level of applications from young women.

Minister Kehoe then added, 'I believe the Defence Forces offers an incredible opportunity for young men and women to learn vital life skills, develop their leadership potential, undergo world class training and enhance their education. Ireland needs a Defence Forces that can defend against the modern threats of international terrorism and cyber attack; a Defence Forces that can manifest our national values in peacekeeping operations protecting the most vulnerable on this planet; while also having the flexibility to support our communities in times of need such as the recent extreme weather.”

In addition to this General Service Recruitment Competition and the ongoing Air Corps Apprentice Aircraft Technician Competition, the Defence Forces will also run a Cadet Competition next month as well as a second General Service Recruitment Campaign in Q3 of this year. The planned target is to induct approximately 800 new entrants to the Defence Forces across all services and competition streams in 2018.

The Competition is open from 12.01am on Monday, 26 March 2018 to 11.59pm on Sunday 22 April 2018 here

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• for hi res photos that can be associated with the launch please see here
• the online gaming experience can be seen here
• the social media ad can be seen here
• the female focussed ad can be seen here
• applicants for General Service with the Army must be not less than 18 years of age and under 25 years of age on the date deemed as the closing date for applications
• applicants for General Service with the Naval Service must be not less than 18 years of age and under 27 years of age on the date deemed as the closing date for applications.

For more information on how to apply people can contact recruitment@defenceforces.ie or see here