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31-12-2025
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 program 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 organization reported that it is expected to match basic recruit salaries, typically about 26,000 pounds, or $35,000.
Under the program, 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 (RAF) is still considering options, according to reports.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey told media; “this is a new era for Defence, and that means opening up new opportunities for young people.”
News of the program follows remarks earlier 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 earlier this year that defence and security spending will rise to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
It follows repeated warnings from senior defence figures that the UK is unprepared for war and must upskill the population.
Last year, General Sir Patrick Sanders, then head of the British Army, said Britain should “train and equip” a “citizen army” in the face of Russian aggression, though he stressed that he did not mean conscription.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the British military, said this month that more Britons must be ready to fight for their country, warning that “more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means”.
The Strategic Defence Review, a blueprint for the future of the Armed Forces, specifically recommended faster, more flexible options for recruitment, including military gap years, and a “whole of society” approach to defence.
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said that the gap year would lead to greater military recruitment and support for the military among the public, and also help “educate society that we are now entering a very, very challenging era of insecurity”.
He added: “I’m pleased that there is a sober conversation taking place with the British people about just how dangerous our world’s becoming, and there’s an active effort to prepare us for a difficult future.” (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
