I__. - International Military Testing Association

A special Approach in Assessment- based Personnel Selection
G. Rode1
German Naval Volunteer Recruiting Centre
Wilhelmshaven, Federal Republic of Germany
Introduction:
Due to the lower birthrates in the past and the politically based effects in the present, the FRG Artied
Forces have to deal with shrinking numbers of volunteers. The German Navy ’ s efforts to exploit personnel
resources is especially focusing attention on draftees.
To become a temporary career volunteer in the Federal German Navy there are three different ways of
enlistmenl:
The first way involves civilian volunteers applying to the Naval Volunteer Recruiting Centre (NVRC),
where their aptitude for a temporary-career enlistment is tested (selection) prior to their placement in
the Navy, 65% of all temporary-career volunteers enter the Navy using this way via the NVRC.
The second way is the recruitment of conscripts serving in field units. About 10% of the temporarycareer
volunteers are recruited in lhis way.
The third possibility of becoming a temporary-career volunteer in the Navy is through the.so-called
“Information and counseling campaign” (IBA). I would now like to give a more detailed account of this
model of recruitment.
The IBA completes the quarterly temporary-career volunteer requirements which have not been met
by NVRC and at troops level. If the NVRC enlists a great number of volunteers for a specific quarter,
the complementary recruitment requirements to be met by IBA are correspondingly smaller. Thus, the
number of volunteers that have to be recruited by IBA are subject to fluctuations. Usually, the percentage
lies between 25 and 35 of the total need of temporary-career volunteers.
In this context I would like to give you some figures underlying the importance of the IBA for the German
Navy:
The Navy has a strength of approximately 29.000 soldiers (without officers), of whom 3000are in their
basic military service, 16.000 are temporary-career volunteers and 7.800 are regulars.
Every year, about 1,000 soldiers are recruited by IBA as temporary-career volunteers. This amounts to
a quarter of the annual requirements.
The military training system of the Federal German Navy presents great advantages for the realisation
of such a recruitment campaign. Training is provided centrally at only nine training centres - so-called
schools -, and the maximum distance between these centres beeing 500 kilometres. All Navy training
courses are held at these training centres. These training courses permit us a focused approach to all
students for the purpose of recruitment, examination and placement.
Another advantage is the central personnel management in the Navy under the responsibility of the
Navy Enlisted Personnel Office, which keeps us informed about the specific requirements of the Navy
for every quarter. In this way, we can steer the applicants for a placement in specific tasks or jobs.
368