The challenge with using old ideas to solve the CAF staffing crisis

OTTAWA—It is no secret that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are woefully under-strength. According to the chief of military personnel, Major-General Lise Bourgon, the regular forces and the reserves are presently 16,500 people short of their combined authorized strength of 105,000 service members. In 2022, Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre told a House of Commons committee that he is “very, very worried” about the military’s staffing crisis. Eyre has subsequently issued a directive that makes recruiting and retention the CAF’s top priority. One of the first initiatives implemented was last year’s groundbreaking decision to lift almost all grooming and dress regulations. There are no longer restrictions on hairstyles, facial hair, tattoos or piercings. Members still have to wear a uniform, but there is no longer a gender specification. Men can wear women’s clothing items and vice versa. To cast a wider recruiting net, in December 2022 the CAF removed the requirement that recruits to be full-fledged citizens in order to join. Now, having permanent residency status is all that is necessary. On March 31, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) announced that they are implementing a new initiative called the Naval Experience Program (NEP). This is a recruitment program intended to give Canadians the opportunity to experience the Navy as a sailor on a one-year contract that provides them with exposure to a variety of naval trades before deciding if a career in the Navy is the right fit for them. According to the RCN press release, “through the new NEP, the Navy is rethinking the way it attracts, recruits, and trains sailors. The aim of the program is simple: to reduce the amount of time it takes to train civilians as sailors, to foster the development of sailors who love their work, and to attract those who enjoy the unique lifestyle of that the Navy offers.” In almost all other aspects, the NEP mirrors that of standard recruitment into the CAF. Applicants can be as young as 16 if they have parental consent and you can enlist up to the age of 57. Admission is open to citizens and permanent residents. The pay and benefits are equivalent to those enrolled in the regular force. The one difference will be that NEP participants will be rushed through an eight-week basic military training course and naval environmental training in either Halifax, N.S., or Esquimalt, B.C. Essentially, the only thing different from the new NEP and ordinary recruitment is that there is no contractual obligation to serve the long standard three-year basic engagement. While Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is to be commended for looking at unconventional methods to address the chronic manpower shortage, the fact is that the NEP concept is not without a CAF precedent. Back in 1983, Canada faced a nation-wide employment shortage with the youth sector facing the most serious challenges. To solve this problem, the government created the Youth Training and Employment Program (YTEP). While it was a well-meaning initiative to take unemployed youths and put them in a uniform for 12 months, in practice it did not work so well. It may have taken these individuals off the list of the unemployed, but for the military it created a whole new tier of personnel. These YTEPs were neither fish nor fowl in the eyes of the chain of command. While subject to military discipline, their short term of service meant that commanders were reluctant to invest time and resources into developing their individual skills. Priority for things like leadership advancement or parachute-training courses went to those who had voluntarily signed up for a three-year contract. As such, the YTEP experience became the opposite of what Topshee hopes the NEP will be: the YTEP soldiers rarely re-enlisted to become career soldiers. Hence that experimental program was quickly discontinued. The other inherent risk of the NEP is that it may dissuade a large number of those who, without the one-year option, would agree to commit to a standard three-year contract. Given that there is no pay incentive to commit to a longer contract, why would a 19-year-old commit to three years instead of one? This could, in turn, exacerbate the manpower shortage in the years to come with additional trainers needed to deal with an annual influx. Once signed up, it will be the responsibility of the Navy’s leadership to ensure that one-year experience does indeed make these individuals into lifelong sailors. That will be the real challenge. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times

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The challenge with using old ideas to solve the CAF staffing crisis

The Naval Experience Program mirrors that of standard recruitment into the Canadian Armed Forces.

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