Ett antal faktorer som Försvarsmaktens (FM) volymminskning, värnpliktens vilande och avsaknaden av en mera akut nationell hotbild, har lett till att försvarets förankring i samhället inte är lika självklar som tidigare. Detta kan bland annat ge negativa effekter på FM personalförsörjning liksom på förståelsen i samhället för FM verksamhet och i förlängningen befolkningens stöd för verksamheten. Syftet med denna studie var att hos företrädare för FM högre nivåer kartlägga uppfattningar av vad som är viktiga faktorer för förankringen i samhället. I rapporten redovisas informanternas uppfattningar om bland annat allmänhetens syn på FM, om relationen mellan FM och den politiska nivån samt politikernas respektive FM ansvar för myndighetens förankring i samhället. Rapporten lämnar förslag på åtgärder som FM kan göra för att positivt förbättra förankringen. Inom projektet har det tidigare tagits fram en forskningsöversikt och gjorts en intervjustudie med informanter från näringsliv, andra myndigheter, lokala politiker och politiska ungdomsförbund.
European armed forces still remain predominantly white, male organizations; their societies, however, are becoming more diverse and older. How will these armed forces be able to cope with this challenge? In order to answer this question, in the first semester of 2017, a group of scholars working within the framework of the European Defense Agency conducted an online survey among international experts in human and social sciences, defense managers, policymakers, and journalists specialized in defense issues. The aim of the survey, which followed a previous survey among young people on the attractiveness of the military as a job, was to measure their opinions and ask their suggestions concerning possible ways for increasing diversity in European armed forces. This paper presents some of the results of this multinational online survey.The unique feature of the study is that it is forward-looking and international: experts from various NATO and EU countries were asked how Defense organizations could deal with future challenges of demographic characteristics. The study, therefore, adds to our understanding of possible solutions for ensuring increased diversity in armed forces.
The Swedish Armed forces has been transformed to an all-volunteer force where the first soldiers began their employment in May 2011. The number of applicants has been satisfying but experiences from other countries indicate that it has been easier to recruit soldiers than to retain them. The aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting the job satisfaction of soldiers. Twenty-one informants who had been employed as soldiers for about a year participated in the study. They came from all three fighting services (army, air force, navy). The data was analyzed according to a grounded theory approach.
The results show that the soldiers’ job satisfaction is related to their inner motivation to join the armed forces. The inner motivation can be divided into: (a) primarily searching for a job and a steady income, (b) a great interest in the armed forces and military tasks, and (c) an aim for a certain education/position. Factors that appear to affect the job satisfaction are, for example: co-workers, salary and experienced meaningfulness. Another result from the study is that strategic decisions at the Head Quarter level that involve unexpected readjustments at the local level tend to have a negative effect on of the soldiers’ motivation and job satisfaction because the leaders at the local units are poorly prepared to handle the changes. This will be more thoroughly discussed during the presentation.
This presentation examines the recruitment base to the Swedish all-volunteer force; the applicants for basic military training. So far the recruitment to the all-volunteer force has been satisfactory in respect of qualitative terms; both regarding psychological and physiological capabilities. The capabilities of those selected for basic military training have been as good as or better in comparison to previous years with conscription. Despite good quality among the recruitment base there have been vacancies, and the future need of personnel will increase. To increase the recruitment base and the diversity among the personnel, the Swedish Armed Forces are working to promote and increase the proportion of women and employees with different ethnic background. Although the all-volunteer force provides a more heterogenic recruitment base in some aspects than the conscript based force, the all-volunteer force in Sweden mainly attracts young men that are born in Sweden. The proportion of women has significantly increased from conscription. However there are no well-known changes in the amount of persons born abroad. Studies have revealed that the proportion of applicants for the basic military training born in another country than Sweden decline in each step of the selection process. This presentation will focus on the recruitment of women and persons born abroad in the selection process to the Swedish Armed Forces.
Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva och analysera utvecklingen av det frivilliga försvarets rekryteringsunderlag, kvantitativt och kvalitativt. År 2013 var det tredje året den grundläggande militära utbildningen (GMU) genomfördes. De sökande till GMU har följts från rekryttestet, via kallelse till antagningsprövning, deltagande vid antagningsprövning, till det att individer blev nomineringsbara för GMU.
Det initiala behovet av rekryter 2013 var högre än tidigare år med frivillighet, och även antalet sökande var högre. Antalet ansökningar till GMU 2013 var 21 869, vilket gav ett söktryck på 4,7 sökande per plats. Jämfört med 2012 var det en högre andel som sökte för första gången (92 %). Detta tyder på att GMU 2013 lockat många nya individer. Antalet liksom andelen sökande kvinnor ökade i jämförelse med tidigare år. Jämfört med 2011 har antalet sökande kvinnor fördubblats. Däremot var andelen nomineringsbara kvinnor lägre jämfört med 2012. Totalt sett lockade dock det frivilliga försvaret 2013, liksom 2011 och 2012, i huvudsak unga svenskfödda män.
Kvaliten i rekryteringsunderlaget var fortsatt god 2013. Dock är de prövade liksom de nomineringsbara individernas resultat i psykologiska och fysiologiska kapaciteter inte lika goda som resultat från 2011 och 2012 års antagningsprövningar. Minskningen 2013 till trots visar rapporten att frivilligheten hittills tycks innebära en positiv självselektion gällande psykologiska kapaciteter.
Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva och analysera utvecklingen av det frivilliga försvarets rekryteringsunderlag, kvatitativt och kvalitativt.Rekryteringsunderlaget följs under antagningsprocessen, det vill säga från rekryttest, via antagningsprövning till det att individer blir antagningsbara för grundläggande militär utbildning (GMU). Det är ännu för tidigt att uttala sig om effekter på rekryteringsunderlagets kvaliteter och bortfall under antagningsprocessen av den flexibla antagningen som infördes under våren 2014. Generellt har antalet sökande 2014 och deras värden på antagningsprövningens tester varit av god kvalitet. Rekryteringsunderlaget 2014 var väldigt likt rekryteringsunderlagen 2011-2013. Statistiskt signifikanta skillnader erhölls i jämförelse med tidigare år men det rörde sig om små skillnader av liten verklig betydelse. Frivillighet har hittills inte medfört försämrad kvalitet i rekryteringsunderlaget så som befarat, utan snarare en ökad kvalitet som med tiden tycks plana ut och stabiliseras.
Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera utvecklingen av rekryteringsunderlaget, kvantitativt och kvalitativt. I rekryteringsunderlaget 2022 ingår pliktade och frivilligt sökande. De pliktade 2022 består av svarande på mönstringsunderlaget vilket är individer som är födda 2004. De frivilligt sökande består av individer som har besvarat prövningsunderlaget under januari – december 2022. Resultat från mönstringen har kopplats samman med respektive individ och inrymmer tidsperioden januari 2022 till april 2023.
Rekryteringsunderlaget 2022 består av 114 577 individer, av vilka huvuddelen (89 %) är pliktade. Av de nomineringsbara är andelen pliktade också 89 procent, vilket är högre än tidigare år. Den könsneutrala plikten innebär att 46 procent av det totala underlaget består av kvinnor; 49 procent av de pliktade och 20 procent av de frivilligt sökande. Genom antagningsprocessen minskar andelen kvinnor till 20 procent av de nomineringsbara. Andelen är något högre än 2018-2019 men något lägre än 2021.
Jämfört med pliktåren 2018-2021 är kvaliteten bland de mönstrande och nomineringsbara något lägre i de psykologiska variablerna. De mönstrades värden i pliktförmåga och befälslämplighet är de lägsta sedan värnpliktens återinförande, medan värdet i fysisk kapacitet är det högsta under dessa fem år. Ökningen i generell begåvning och minskningen i muskelkapacitet har avtagit.
Generellt sett presterar de mönstrade och nomineringsbara individerna i rekryteringsunderlaget 2022 lägre värden på mönstringen än åren med endast frivilligt sökande, med undantag för de nomineringsbaras generella begåvning som är högre. Resultatet ses som en konsekvens av att fler kallas till mönstring, vilket bör innebära att värdena mer bör avspegla en normalpopulation.
Attrition from basic military training is a serious and costly problem for Armed Forces. When the Swedish Armed Forces transformed from a conscript-based force to an all-volunteer force in 2010 the knowledge about reasons for attrition decreased, due to changed procedures. Today a recruit can leave basic military training within 24 hours and without further explanations. The project “Systematic follow-up of the psychological selection”, aims at developing the admission tests, the basic military training and the work environment at the military units in order to reduce attrition. The project is a collaboration between the Swedish Armed Forces including the Internal Occupational Health Care Center and Human Resources, the Swedish Defence Recruitment Agency and the Swedish Defence University.
Data is collected from the admission tests, questionnaires (first week/baseline, and last week of training) and interviews with recruits who drop out. The project aims to predict attrition caused by other factors than injuries and to predict further engagement/employment in the Swedish Armed Forces.
Partly due to difficulties to employ sufficient numbers to the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Government have decided to reestablish the conscription in 2018. The conscription will be gender neutral and work as a complement to the volunteer recruitment. We believe that the methods of this project and the knowledge gained are as reliable for a conscript-based training as for a volunteer training.
The transition from a conscript-based force to an all-volunteer force in Sweden 2010 implied changes for selection and training as well as for the procedure for attrition from the basic military training. Today a recruit can leave basic military training within 24 hours and without further explanations. As a consequence, the changed procedure when a recruit leaves training has caused a lack of information of reasons for attrition and lack of feedback to the Swedish Defence Recruitment Agency who is responsible for the assessments and selection of recruits. The first step to re-establish a systematic follow-up of the psychological selection and to validate the selection procedure has started. The aim of this project is to gain knowledge of reasons for attrition from basic military training in order to predict attrition and to predict successful 76 recruitment (defined as signing a contract with the Swedish Armed Forces). Results from 2015 (478 questionnaires and 36 interviews) indicate that it is not only the selection that contributes to successful recruitment, but also the training period and the leadership of the officers. Further, the results have facilitated the development of questionnaires, interview guides, instructions and methods for future studies. The project is a collaboration between the Swedish Armed Forces including the Internal Occupational Health Care Center and Human Resources, the Swedish Defence Recruitment Agency and the Swedish Defence University.
Syftet med metodförsöket med systematisk urvalsuppföljning är att fördjupa förståelsen för avgångs- och framgångsorsaker under militär grundutbildning vid Försvarsmakten, samt att kunna använda resultaten som underlag för anpassning av krav, tester, urvalskriterier och utbildning.
I projektet samarbetar Försvarsmakten, Rekryteringsmyndigheten och Försvarshögskolan för att identifiera faktorer som predicerar avgångar från den militära grundutbildningen vid Försvarsmakten och samtidigt identifiera framgångsfaktorer för kostnadseffektivt och träffsäkert urval vid Rekryteringsmyndigheten.
Denna delrapport presenterar erfarenheter, resultat och åtgärdsförslag från det andra försöket med systematisk urvalsuppföljning avseende militärpsykologiskt urval som genomfördes med rekryter som ryckte in under 2016.
Syftet med metodförsöket med systematisk urvalsuppföljning är att utveckla metoder för inhämtning och analys av information om rekryter som avgår och fullföljer grundutbildningen, samt att undersöka om valda metoder genererar tillräckligt bra underlag för att kontinuerligt utveckla antagningsprövning, rekrytutbildning och utbildningsmiljö vid förband.
I projektet samarbetar Försvarsmakten, Rekryteringsmyndigheten och Försvarshögskolan för att identifiera framgångsfaktorer för kostnadseffektivt och träffsäkert urval, samt att identifiera faktorer som som predicerar avgångar från den militära grundutbildningen vid Försvarsmakten och som predicerar fortsatt engagemang i Försvarsmakten direkt efter grundutbildningen.
Denna delrapport presenterar erfarenheter, resultat och åtgärdsförslag från projektet med systematisk urvalsuppföljning avseende militärpsykologiskt urval som genomfördes med rekryter som ryckte in under 2017.
Försvarsmakter som övergått från plikt till frivillighet har funnit att detta inneburit förändringar i rekryteringsunderlagets kvalitet. Syftet med föreliggande rapport var att följa det svenska rekryteringsunderlagets utveckling, kvantitativt och kvalitativt, i övergången från ett på värnplikt baserat försvar till ett försvar som bygger på frivillighet.
Attrition is a serious and costly problem for many Armed Forces. The attrition rate in the Swedish Armed Forces basic military training 2014 was 16 percent. The main reasons given for dropping out were health/ injury related but also reasons related to changed career ambitions, such as starting another line of work or studies. The aim of our project that we will present is to gain a deeper understanding about the recruits who choose to leave compared to those who remain during basic military training. Another goal is to plan a long-term systematic follow-up with the possibility to develop requirements, assessments, selection criteria and training by evaluating the predictive power of the selection. The project includes a psychological follow-up of the drop outs, and will later also include physiological and medical follow-ups. The project is a collaboration between the Swedish Armed Forces including the Internal Occupational Health Care Center and Human Resources, the Swedish Defence Recruitment Agency and the Swedish Defence University. In the presentation the project will be illustrated from different perspectives. Aim, practical implementation and results of the qualitative and quantitative data collections will also be presented.
This study aimed to explore how facilitators of group dynamic and structured leadership courses cope with difficult situations during the course, and to relate their coping strategies to general individual characteristics and situation-specific appraisals. The study group consisted of facilitators of two of the most widespread leadership courses in Sweden: 110 facilitators of the course Understanding Group and Leader (UGL) and 111 facilitators of Developmental leadership (DL). A web-based questionnaire included descriptions of two difficult interpersonal course situations and questions on personality, general leadership style as well as situation-specific appraisal and coping. Three coping strategies were identified (factor analyses): Focus on course structure, Focus on psychological safety and Focus on own reflection. These factors were positively correlated. Weak associations were observed between the coping strategies and personality and general leadership style. Situation-specific appraisals covaried more strongly with the coping strategies. The findings suggest that reflection based on these coping strategies can lead to increased self-awareness and self-confidence on part of the facilitator. The findings may also help leadership course facilitators to cope more effectively, which in turn creates trust in the group that they are leading. The study contributes to the understanding of a limited research area; how leadership course facilitators cope with difficult course situations. The results provide guidance on how to cope more effectively. Practical implications include aspects to focus on in the training of leadership course facilitators.
Syftet med föreliggande studie var att, utifrån ett aktörsperspektiv, kartlägga långsiktiga och tidlösa faktorer av potentiell betydelse för samhällets relation till Försvarsmakten (FM). Politiker, företrädare för myndigheter och näringsliv på nationell och lokal nivå deltog i studien. FM samhällsfunktion undersöktes utifrån teman som berörde bland annat kunskapen om FM och förtroendet för FM. Rapport avslutas med en diskussion om långsiktig värdeförskjutning och tidlösa faktorer för en gynnsam samhällsförankring, följt av förslag på åtgärder som FM kan göra för att samhället ska få ökad kunskap, förståelse, förtroende, trovärdighet och legitimitet i samhället nu och på lång sikt.
Although the last few decades have witnessed a shift from conscription to all-volunteer forces in many European countries, recent changes in the European security environment have raised new concerns and prompted several countries to reconsider conscription. However, modern conscription systems have also had to adapt to changing societies and an increasing emphasis on individualistic and neoliberal values. This study aims to examine the various forms of military conscription and illuminate the continuing viability of the conscription model in six European countries: Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Four of these countries have consistently maintained conscription (Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland), while Lithuania and Sweden have recently reinstated conscription. Although conscription systems differ among these countries, there is overall an increasing emphasis on conscript motivation and female participation. Three key aspects are identified to describe different conscription systems: the proportion of conscripted individuals in the birth cohort, motivation to serve, and the approach to female conscripts. Combining these aspects, the study identifies three types of conscription system in these six countries. This article demonstrates that conscription has evolved and adapted to changing societies and security situations instead of merely retaining its traditional form.
Sweden is one of the most gender equal countries in the world, but this is not reflected in the representation of women in the Swedish Armed Forces. Women have increased in both numbers and proportion since the transformation to an all-volunteer force in 2010, but the gender distribution is still skewed and women tend to drop out of the selection process for basic military training to a greater extent than men. The 2014 White Paper emphasizes that the Swedish Armed Forces should actively work to increase the proportion of women at all levels in order to achieve a more even gender distribution. This article describes a project that aims to increase the proportion of women who start basic military training in the Swedish Armed Forces. The project aims to identify successful methods and activities that motivate women and optimize their chances of passing the admission test, and basic military training. Women who passed the first step in the selection process for basic military training were contacted by the project. Women who were contacted and participated in activities were positive, stayed longer in the selection process, and looked forward to beginning basic military training.
With the demographic change taking place all over European societies, the number of young people entering the labor market will decline. As a result, European Defense organizations will likely face severe recruitment and retention problems and find themselves in ever more direct competition with the private sector to attract the best candidates. To offset the shrinking base of recruitment, they will have to become more attractive to potential recruits and to increase the number of candidates in previously under-represented segments (for example, women and ethnic-cultural minorities). The paper presents selected results from an online survey carried out between Spring 2015 and Spring 2016 in five countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland) among samples of young people. The paper presents how young people from these countries in general, view their armed forces, what their job expectations are, and what they think the armed forces can offer them. The multinational survey on which the analyses were based is part of a collaborative project conducted within the framework of the European Defense Agency on the impact of demographic change on the recruitment and retention of personnel in European armed forces.
With the demographic change taking place all over European societies, the number of young people entering the labor market is declining. As a result, the armed forces of Westernpostindustrial societies are facing severe recruitment problems and find themselves in ever more direct competition with the private sector to attract the best candidates. To offset the shrinking base of recruitment, they have to become more attractive to potential recruits and to increase the number of candidates in previously under-represented segments, particularly women. The paper presents selected results from an online survey carried out between Spring 2015 and December 2016 in 6 countries (Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland) among samples of young people. Following previous papers which dealt with the attractiveness of a military career among young people in general, and women and ethnic-cultural minorities in particular, this paper analyzes various factors that, presently, deter a lot of young women to consider joining the armed forces. The multinational survey on which the analyses are based is part of a collaborative research project conducted within the framework of the European Defense Agency on the impact of demographic change on the recruitment and retention of personnel in European armed forces.