The New Zealand Defence Force is facing a battle of a different kind - trying to attract and keep people in the services of the Army, Air Force and the Navy.
File image Photo: NZ Defence Force
With a really tight job market, recruitment is down and Royal New Zealand Air Force flight lieutenant Emma Raven told Afternoons it was a combination of issues.
"Across the country, there's historically low unemployment with a big demand for skilled workers, which means that there's really attractive employment opportunities elsewhere, and they also include higher pay across the job market.
"If we look at the army specifically, we've had both Iraq and Afghanistan missions conclude during the Covid period, which means there are also fewer opportunities to deploy.
"Last but not least, in addition to this over the last two years, a huge number of New Zealand Defence Force personnel were called upon to support MIQ, which really reduced our ability to train and employ personnel in their primary roles as well as causing disruption to families and home life being deployed away from home so frequently."
Raven said the attrition rate was slightly up.
The focus was to attract under-represented minority groups and women recruits, she said.
Even those looking for a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) pathways had a place in the Defence Force which was bringing in new technology and aircraft, Raven said.
"So whether you are working on aircraft, whether you are aircrew, whether you are working in sort of that communication space all the way up until now we're starting to branch into cyber and space as well.
"We're moving from more of a domestic support to that global support again."
