John G
LE
@bob, I couldn't agree with you more - I was simply trying to avoid the inevitable squealing from @CAARPS that these really are genuine 'applications' and the only problem is turning these genuine 'applications' into genuine feet through the ACC door.Are they even initial enquiries John? I think anyone in the marketing game would consider the 100k+ “applications” to be no more than unqualified leads.
If you defined an enquiry to be someone who actually engages beyond just providing basic email and phone details, I’d bet that enquiries are significantly less than what is being quoted as “applications”.
When you think about it, 100k leads is pretty pathetic given the Army’s recruiting spend. At best it’s smoke and mirrors, at worst it’s higjly misleading.
Technically, of course, he's 100% correct - that's how the Army counts and what the Army calls 'applications' even if nobody else does, and I do mean nobody else be they the other Services, many of the MoD, Min and Secs of Def, etc, etc, or any other reasonably comparable businesses.
@CAARPS link spells it out very clearly, as have previous similar monthly and quarterly Statistical Reports (my bold):
Due to differences in the application process for each Service, the three Services do not currently adopt the same definition of an ‘application’. Therefore, application numbers cannot be added together across the Services to show total Armed Forces applications (hence separate tables and graphs are provided).
The number of applications received does not directly relate to intake figures, since: Figures relate to the number of applications received and not the number of applicants, as one applicant may submit several applications;...
.....
- Applications may be submitted with no intention to join (e.g. to satisfy the requirements of job seeking).
I'd suggest that it's not just "highly misleading" but that it's very difficult to see how it can be anything but deliberately misleading - as you and I debated rather heatedly before these figures should all be readily and easily available, particularly to a former Min of State for Def tasked with finding out why recruiting was so poor, but they're not. Really, they're not! Nobody knows how many made it through the door, why so many (at an educated guess around 75%) didn't, or how many were rejected or why. I know it seems unbelievable, particularly to anyone who was previously involved in gathering that information as you were, but that's all too clearly the position.
No, @Bob, that's the only point where I disagree with you. These aren't "one stage on from a prospect" but, again according to the link @CAARPS gave, many of these aren't even "prospects" (again, my bold):So one stage on from a prospect
Applications that do not result in intake
The main causes of applicant failure (i.e. no offer to join the Services given) include:
- Failing security clearance;
- Not having the required residency;
- Not achieving the required recruiting test score for the desired branch/trade;
- Failing the medical scrutiny;
- Not achieving fitness entry standards;
- Applicants withdraw for their own reasons (e.g. change of mind) during the process
- Applicants may have submitted other applications for employment (including multiple applications to join the Armed Forces) and accept another offer;
- Applications may be submitted with no intention to join (e.g. to satisfy the requirements of job seeking).
There has been a large increase in the number of applications to join the Army Regular Forces in the last
three quarters. The increase is, in part, due to a rise in Commonwealth applicants as a result of the
announcement that residency requirements would be waived to allow 200 Commonwealth citizens per
annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require
specialist skills. In addition to this, the introduction of the Army Quick application process (‘Quick App’) in
November 2016 may have resulted in increases in applications following this period. Since the same
period last year, there has been an overall increase of 27,990 applications to join the Regular Army.
All applicants for these 200 places are included in the figures, even though there is absolutely zero "prospect" of the vast majority of them being enlisted as all the 200 vacancies have already been filled for the year and many will never have even been to the UK at all and just be applying 'on spec' from their own country.
I recall it being suggested that there were "thousands" of Commonwealth applicants for each of these vacancies. If correct that would mean at least 200,000 of these 66,913 "applications" were by Commonwealth applicants without the normal required residency qualification, of whom 99.9% had no "prospect" of actually joining, putting the number of "prospects" in negative territory.
Personally I think that's probably a wild exaggeration and the real figure is probably closer to that given by @CAARPS elsewhere ("We have circa 100 comenwealth applicants for each available post"), but that's still around 19,800 with absolutely no prospect of joining, so that's 30% of those 66,913"applications" straight in the bin. That's hardly a good start in terms of "prospects" before you add in those who, again according to @CAARPS' link, have made "multiple applications" or those who have made "Applications ...with no intention to join (e.g. to satisfy the requirements of job seeking)."
It really isn't difficult (or shouldn't be) to count the number of applicants at the same point as everyone else in the Armed Forces and to only include genuine "prospects" ... but the Army seems curiously reluctant to do so.