The Australian Defence Force needs new approaches to recruitment and retention. It should look at sharing people with industry and consider reducing induction training, while also getting people into limited service before their long security clearances are complete.
As things stand, long processes, inability to retain experienced staff and difficulties attracting critical technology skill sets are hampering the ADF’s ability to prepare for a heightened strategic threat environment.
Much can be learned from recent conflicts abroad, which have demonstrated approaches to rapidly scaling a military workforce and leveraging specialised industry skill sets for adaptive campaigns. Critical technologies, such as cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, have proved transformational in the modern adaptive battlefield, as highlighted in the Russo-Ukraine War.
Applying those lessons to further emerging technologies, such as quantum computing, robotics and space-domain, geospatial long-range strike and influence campaigns, will be essential for ADF transformation and deterrence. A shift in perspective is needed to attract those skill sets to the ADF and retain them without competition with the organisations where those skills have been cultivated.
Take the example of an AI specialist: defence and industry or academia will be sharing his or her important skill set that’s probably integral to an organisation’s core function and business. A new model for engaging with industry based upon reciprocity and shared benefit, as opposed to competing with civilian employers for the time and energy of their experts, can shift the recruitment calculus in the ADF’s favour. Flexible and non-traditional approaches to service would allow for the sharing of skilled personnel with the ADF, while potential links and access to defence projects grants, and public-relations opportunities, could be incentives for organisations.
Personnel working on ADF projects not only contribute to their organisations’ ongoing links to Defence, but also bring those experiences and learning back to their core organisational work. That benefit can be multiplied through ADF opportunities for courses, upskilling and cross-discipline work across technologies. The intangible benefits of opportunities to use critical skill sets in new domains and upskill in areas beyond the scopes of their civilian organisations are what will attract those members and gain the support of their employers.
Established entry pathways for recruits between industry and the ADF can offer further unique opportunities to those participating. Consider a cybersecurity business that offers prospective employees the chance for a career in the private sector while also providing access to unique and exclusive ADF projects. Potential members can then consider a form of national service in their skill area that likely doesn’t fit into the usual notion of a military career or involve long days in the field.
The ADF Total Workforce System can be leveraged to enable such innovative engagement with industry. Using the existing service category system (SERCAT) for maximum flexibility is needed to ensure that critical skill sets are retained wherever possible, whether through a regular pattern of service or even through short-notice calls for duty, irregular service or full-time service for brief periods.
Part-time service, including SERCATs 3, 5 and 6, can enable the recruitment and retention of personnel with critical skills. Experts in industry require the flexibility to maintain dual careers in the military and civilian sectors, as well as to continue to hone and develop their skills in industry and academic domains. SERVOP D (dual civilian–military employment) and the SERCAT system can then be leveraged for ongoing flexibility. For example, the AI specialist could be seconded by his employer to work on a defence project full time for a short period before falling back into irregular service until the next period of need.
Paradoxically, by allowing for less service obligation, the ADF will be likely not only to maximise its return on investment in staffing key projects and research, but also to benefit from the experience that personnel will continue to accumulate in their civilian careers. The ADF can further offer access to unique and interesting projects, technological sandboxes including AUKUS Pillar 2 technologies, and collaboration with domestic and international peers on work that will benefit the nation.
Recruitment pathways for skilled members should be revitalised to cater for what is needed. That can include reduced induction training, flexible approaches to medical requirements, and rapid entry into service in a sanitised environment while security clearances are processed. An AI specialist doesn’t need to spend three weeks at basic training to be effective in his or her specialty in the ADF. A bespoke approach is needed, depending on the specialist area, as has proven successful within the UK Joint Cyber Reserve Force.
Conditions of service could also be revisited. This might include pro-rata remuneration with full-time members, superannuation or leveraging the existing retention bonus system. Highly skilled part-time personnel are unlikely to be retained in the long term through the traditional binary reserve compensation system that allows for daily renumeration only at either three or six hours per day, regardless of actual service length.
The ADF’s acute workforce challenges require new approaches and flexibility to overcome. Beginning with industry engagement trials would be a good idea, particularly with an aim of accessing specialised and niche skill sets. Regional industry engagement cells can be established, and a flexible approach to the total workforce system and its varying service categories will be essential to enable their success.
