It is a generally accepted truth that the Army recruits most of its soldiers from the lowest socio-economic groups in the country. The status of a soldier, while often admired, has never been high, and joining the Army has always been seen as a good option for young people with few qualifications or difficult pasts.
While roughly 45% of all young people leave school with 5 GCSE subjects graded A-C only, 17% of all Army recruits in 2003-04 had English at A-C level, with the figure for Maths at about 10%. On average Army recruits have 0.9 of a GCSE at grade A-C.
However, it is possible to say that the educational qualifications of soldiers is considerably below the national average. Records also show that 24% of all Army applicants in 2003-04 were unemployed for a significant period before applying.
In 1999-2000, research was undertaken into the socio-economic background of Army recruits in the Cardiff catchment area. Five hundred recruits who joined the Army between 1998 and 2000 were interviewed, and their records analysed. The analysis illustrated the following:
- 69% were found to have come from a broken home.
50% were classified as coming from a deprived background.
16 % had been long term unemployed before joining.
35% had had more than eight different jobs since leaving school (nearly all on a casual basis). Just over 60% had left school with no academic qualifications.
40% were joining the Army as a last resort.