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2006 May Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada

May 2006 Status Report—Chapter 2

Exhibit 2.7—Delays in recruiting

The following are some of the steps and delays applicants face during the recruitment process.

Aptitude test. After National Defence receives an application from a potential candidate, it opens a file and conducts an initial contact interview with the candidate. Then the applicant takes the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test. Fifty percent of applicants complete the aptitude test within 21 days. Heavy workload at peak periods and incomplete documents extend the time for the other fifty percent.

Medical fitness. The main challenge encountered at this step is the delays in completing the screening of applicants who have medical problems (sixty percent of all applicants). Forty percent of the applicants—those with no medical problems—pass the medical processing in three days. However, processing applicants with medical problems increased the complexity of medical screening. Delays often occurred when the recruiting medical officer requested the opinion of a specialist. Half of the applicants with medical problems had to wait from 4 to 21 days to pass the medical. The remainder of the applicants with medical problems waited from 22 days to more than six months to complete this step. Further delays can occur during the final file review at the recruiting headquarters. In the end, only about nine percent of applicants actually failed the medical screening.

Physical fitness. About 12 percent of applicants fail the Canadian Forces Physical Fitness Test, which was instituted in 1997. There can be delays in this step, caused by, for example, the applicant not being available due to medical issues.

Security requirements. Applicants who are not Canadian citizens, or who are citizens but have resided outside of Canada for the 10-year period immediately preceding their application, require a "pre-security assessment" that can cause delays of months or even years, depending on the circumstances. The time required for a pre-security assessment has increased, which discourages many applicants. Landed immigrants can be enrolled in the Canadian Forces in very rare circumstances, subject to a satisfactory assessment, as directed by the head of the Canadian Forces. Recent efforts to streamline security requirements may reduce the processing time for some applicants.

Selection process. Since most selection boards sit only once or twice a year, many candidates have to wait to be assessed. About 50 percent of candidates are selected within 65 days of completing the previous recruitment steps. However, 47 percent of applicants wait between 65 and 300 days to have their application reviewed by the selection board and finalize the recruitment process.

Source: National Defence