News:

Source: Irish Times

A report claims the British army is failing to prepare young recruits for later in life.

TELEVISION ADVERTS for the British army tend to emphasise the training on offer. In each, potential recruits are told they can be an engineer or information technology expert, or learn a range of mechanical skills that will be useful ever after. However, it is a false promise, in the words of Child Soldiers International, which has long complained about the army’s recruitment of 16-year-olds – often from some of the most deprived districts in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Apprenticeships are too tightly focused on military skills and of little use in the world outside, said Child Soldiers International, pointing out that British Legion figures show veterans are twice as likely to be unemployed than those who have never served. The UK is the only European Union country that permits 16-year-old soldiers, despite pleas from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and MPs. In June, the Irish Government decided to raise the recruiting age by a year to 18.

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