OFFICER RECRUITMENT – IMPROVING THE PROCESS
Authors: Österberg JOHAN , Jonsson EMMA , Berglund Anna Karin 
Published: September 2020

Povzetek
Edini način, da na Švedskem postaneš častnik, je, da končaš triletni program šolanja častnikov. V postopku selekcije za program šolanja častnikov je velika razlika med številom kandidatov in številom posameznikov, ki se v resnici začnejo šolati. Ena izmed posledic tega je, da program šolanja častnikov ni bil v celoti zapolnjen že od leta 2008, zaradi česar v švedski vojski primanjkuje častnikov. Prednostna naloga je torej popolnitev švedske vojske z zadostnim številom usposobljenih častnikov, zato se mora od zdaj naprej število kandidatov za častnike povečevati. Leta 2014 se je začel projekt, katerega namen je preučiti pridobivanje kandidatov in selekcijo za program šolanja častnikov ter prepoznavati dejavnike uspešnosti in področja, na katerih so potrebne izboljšave. Dodatna ambicija tega projekta je tudi uvedba ukrepov, potrebnih za povečanje učinkovitosti pridobivanja kandidatov na podlagi rezultatov in razmerja kandidatov, ki se vključijo v program šolanja častnikov.
Projekt je privedel do izvajanja drugačne strategije zaposlovanja v letih 2016 in 2017. V začetku postopka selekcije so s prijavljenimi stopili v stik kandidati, ki so že vključeni v program šolanja častnikov, povabljeni pa so bili tudi na informativni sestanek na švedski obrambni univerzi. S tistimi, ki so bili izbrani za šolanje v programu, so nato stopili v stik njihovi prihodnji poveljniki vodov in jim dali koristne informacije. Rezultati kažejo, da se je število kandidatov, ki so se vključili v program šolanja častnikov, povečalo, osip v izbirnem postopku pa je bil manjši kot kadar koli prej.
Ključne besede: pridobivanje kadra, častniki, program šolanja častnikov, švedska vojska.

Abstract
The only way to become an officer in Sweden is to complete the three-year Officers’ Programme (OP). In the selection process for the OP, there is a large gap between the number of applicants and the number of individuals who start the programme. One consequence of this is that the OP has not been fully manned since 2008, thus leaving the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) with a shortage of officers. Manning the SAF with sufficient officers with the right qualifications is a priority, and henceforth the number of cadets must increase. Therefore, in 2014, a project was launched with the aim of examining recruitment to and selection for the OP, as well as identifying success factors and areas of improvement. An additional ambition was to introduce measures intended to increase recruiting efficiency based on the results, and the proportion of individuals who enter the OP.
The project led to the implementation of a different recruitment strategy in 2016 and 2017. Early in the selection process applicants were contacted by cadets already studying on the OP, and were invited to an information meeting at the Swedish Defence University. Those who were selected to start the OP were also contacted by their future platoon commanders, who provided useful information. The outcomes show that the numbers of cadets starting the OP increased, and the dropout rate during the selection process was lower than before.

Keywords: Recruitment, Officers, Officers’ Programme, Swedish Armed Forces