LONDON – Teenagers in the United Kingdom will be offered paid “gap years” with the armed forces under a new “whole of society” approach to national defence that aims to increase recruitment among young people, according to reports.
The London-based i Paper reported on Friday that the UK’s Ministry of Defence hopes the scheme will broaden the appeal of military careers for British youth as tensions with Russia rise across Europe. The scheme will initially be open to about 150 applicants aged 18 to 25 in early 2026, with ministers aiming to eventually expand the programme to more than 1,000 young people annually, depending on demand, according to British radio LBC.
With fears of threats from Russia growing amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine, European countries have looked to national service for young people as a means to boost their ranks, with France, Germany and Belgium announcing schemes this year. Recruits to the UK scheme will not be deployed on active military operations and while pay has not been confirmed, the UK’s LBC news organisation reported that it is expected to match basic recruit salaries, typically about 26,000 pounds, or USD 35,000.
Under the programme, army recruits would complete 13 weeks of basic training as part of a two-year placement. The navy scheme would last one year while the Royal Air Force is still considering options, according to reports. UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the i Paper: “This is a new era for Defence, and that means opening up new opportunities for young people.” News of the programme follows remarks this month from the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, who said Britain’s “sons and daughters” should be “ready to fight” and defend the country amid Russian aggression, the Press Association reports.
Knighton said that while a direct Russian attack on the UK is unlikely, hybrid threats are intensifying. He referenced a recent incident involving a Russian spy ship suspected of mapping undersea cables near UK waters. “Every day the UK is subject to an onslaught of cyber-attacks from Russia and we know that Russian agents are seeking to conduct sabotage and have killed on our shores”, Knighton said, warning that Russia’s military had become a “hard power [which] is growing quickly”. The UK government announced this year that defence and security spending will rise to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035. (Aljazeera)
