Thu, 6 Jan 2014 | By Colin CottellThe British Army’s head of recruitment tells Recruiter that the army has full confidence in Capita, despite the negative publicity surrounding the army’s partnership with the outsourcing and professional service firm.

[MoD/Crown Copyright]

After criticism of the 10-year £440m project that went live in March, which included defence secretary Philip Hammond admitting there had been problems, among them the army’s and Capita’s IT systems not talking to each other, Brigadier Andrew Jackson gives Capita his full backing. 

“We know that with a properly planned project that is being delivered essentially in-house we have a better chance of managing it effectively towards success,” says Jackson, director recruiting and training (operations) British Army.

During the interview with Recruiter, Jackson confirmed that Capita will be taking over the contract for delivery of the Army’s IT platform from the Atlas Consortia.

In reference to this, Jackson adds: “In the previous system there were stakeholders who we didn’t necessarily have as much a rein on as we will have in the future, and therefore we have more confidence in delivering this, which is why it was the option chosen over Atlas or indeed an in-house model.”

In a statement issued to Recruiter, Capita says: “The army recruiting project recognises the need to move away from paper to a more multi-channel approach that includes an online, telephone and high street presence to support army recruiting. As such, a new state-of-the-art online front end and highly efficient back office ICT system are part of the recruiting project’s modernisation programme. These will result in a more engaging experience and simplify the administration for the candidate.”