While large parts of the economy were either locked down or working from home, the RN continued to train and deliver outputs on the frontline, albeit under difficult conditions for many.īy the end of 2021 the Naval Service had over 40,000 people on strength, the highest since 2012. 6,000 people submitted applications to join the RN a the 12 months up to September 2020 (11% of them applying to join as aircrew) and 3,975 were accepted. Applications to join as officers increased by 34% and rating applications jumped by 28% compared to pre Covid-19 times as people were attracted by the security of military career. The strange circumstances of lockdown encouraged people to carry on serving rather than risk trying to find work in the uncertain civilian job market. The pandemic had an unexpected benefit for the RN as recruitment increased and VO slowed to a trickle. RN-Personnel-Graph-2023 Crash follows COVID bounce Another crisis was never far away but things stabilised a little and gradually management has adapted, implementing a raft of measures such a new crewing models to cope with a of permanent state of over-stretch. By 2015 seniors had recognised this was unsustainable and accepted the need to keep ships alongside at times in order to preserve workforce morale. Initially the RN tried to carry on business as usual but pressure on sailors and emergency drafting to fill gaps led to worsening morale and a vicious circle of increased resignations (Voluntary Outflow). Of all cuts to the navy made in 2010, this arguably left the most toxic legacy and in the following decade, lack of people really began to impact operations. The 2010 defence review saw RN personnel numbers forcibly reduced by a 4,000 and not all of this was achieved through natural wastage as some people were made redundant. Throughout its history the RN has experienced manpower issues as the fleet expanded or contracted and as the balance has swung back and forth between the attractions of secure jobs in the navy or better paid 9-5 work ashore. Here we look at some of the causes, the long-term effects and potential remedies. An increase in resignations and slow down in recruitment in the last 18 months means sailor numbers are declining.
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