The Canadian military insists it’s getting a handle on its recruiting crisis, but a new leaked internal report obtained by CBC News suggests many of those who come through the door quickly leave in frustration over the inability to get trained and into the job they want.

In addition, the effort to retain experienced soldiers, sailors and aircrew was dealt an important blow recently when a Department of National Defence office — set up to find ways to keep people — was defunded.

The struggle to recruit new members to both the regular and the reserve force has been a major preoccupation as the Forces face a shortage of up to 14,000 qualified personnel.

But the flip side of the equation — that has gotten less attention — is the effort to hold on to people, especially in critical technical trades.

  • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
    22·
    6 days ago

    Considering the state of the world, I wouldn’t be against mandatory military service.

    Just to be clear, the reason new recruits are leaving is because of the following (from the article) …

    The reason new members are quitting: Training delays and difficulty adjusting to military life.

    In some cases, recruits are waiting over 206 days for training — notably in specialized trades.

    “There are insufficient trainers, equipment, training facilities and other supports to meet training targets effectively,” said the report, written in April 2025.

    “This leads to delays which significantly frustrate [new] members, who often face months of underemployment.”

    • dermanus@lemmy.caEnglish
      15·
      6 days ago

      This needs more attention. It’s the start of a death spiral of expertise in the armed forces. Eventually those trainers are going to retire or leave, and we’re not training their replacements.

    • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
      5·
      6 days ago

      Ah OK thanks for clarifying.

      Edit: I thought about it and it could still provide a bigger pool of professionals to pick from to train people. Which could potentially fix the problem.

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
      51·
      6 days ago

      I’m very sorry they are unhappy and Canada needs to retain recruits.