PET(4) SAR 17

Petitions Committee

Consultation on petition P-04-432 Stop the Army Recruiting in Schools

Response from the Amie Duggan

I am in individual wishing to give my opinion on the consultation to stop the armed forces recruiting in schools.

I went to a high school in Merthyr Tydfil, typically considered to be an economically deprived area. I can think of three army focused recruitment events during my time at school, the first when I was under 16 years old - no other 'in-house' recruitment was every offered to me or my classmates.

I find the idea that the army recruit from disadvantaged areas abhorrent and I totally believe that this practice needs to be stopped. I do not however believe that this issue is this simplistic and truly believe that the solution lays in better overall career guidance for school pupils.

The army is a valid career choice for many, but they should not be pitched to poorer pupils as their only option - why not allow the army to recruit, but as part of 20 different organisations that go into schools every year. Give pupils a chance to hear from farmers, doctors, solicitors, factory workers and military personnel … but give them options, give them choice and give them a wide range of potential career paths.

In fact I feel so strongly about this that I hope to address this issue and start an online career platform (I have an initial expression of interest in WG at the moment to help support the idea)- a short video overview can be found here - http://vimeo.com/56690820

I hope that my opinion can be included in your discussions.

Kind regards,

Amie Duggan