THE NUMBER of graduates applying for the Defence Forces has more than trebled this year, while the overall number of applications for cadetships outstripped the number of available positions by 66 to one.
In total, the Defence Forces received 2,786 applications for cadetships for just 42 cadet places by midnight on August 21st, the closing date for applications.
Of the applicants, more than one third were graduates with a level 8 degree or higher, a 205 per cent increase on the number of graduates who applied for cadetships in 2008.
The number of applications for cadetships in the Defence Forces was more than double that recorded in 2008. There was an increase of 70 per cent in applications for Army cadetships, while the numbers applying to the Naval Service were up 100 per cent.
The Defence Forces received 1,685 applications for 30 Army cadetships, while 1,101 people applied for the 12 available Naval Service positions.
Defence Forces spokesman Capt Pat O’Connor said the number of applicants was the highest seen by the Defence Forces since the late 1980s.
“The higher applications are clearly due to the economic situation as people are looking for a secure job, but it’s also an opportunity for people to take a step back and say, ‘I want something different’, as we say in the tagline, a life less ordinary.”
He said that there had been a very high standard of candidates ranging in ages between 17 and 28.
“Duty, honour, discipline and loyalty” are the characteristics which the Army is looking for in the new recruits.
“We are looking for good citizens who have the potential to become leaders and want to make them effective citizens who are leaders,” Capt O’Connor said.
The applicants will now undergo a series of examinations and interviews including aptitude, medical and physical tests, group assessments and board interviews.
The successful applicants will engage in 15 months of training in the Military College covering many fields of study before taking up an operational appointment in the permanent Defence Forces.