Managing retention and exit of personnel is key to resolving Defence Forces staffing issue 

Private industry swoops in to hire highly-trained members of the Defence Forces. So the taxpayer is paying for that training while industry captures the return, writes Tony Geraghty

While increased recruitment has eased the Defence Forces staffing crisis, the OECD has long argued that effective workforce planning depends less on hiring and more on predicting the exit of staff members. Stock picture

In my naval career, around the third year of training, I was undertaking a course at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. One evening over dinner, the conversation turned to how long British navy officers were permitted to stay in the service. 

My colleagues spoke matter-of-factly about three broad options they were offered — short career, medium-term careers, and full careers.