Its interesting because public institutions are struggling with recruits but one of the most challenging branches seems to do just fine. One advantage is that they are developing new strategies to maximize their dollars but the other is that they have high standards and have public support/PR so a certain type of person will be attracted to them. With only 9% of the population interested in the volunteer military they seem to be doing well and there could be a few unvetted reasons why this is the case and where other institutions might learn.
Its tough, its dangerous, it does a lot of good, and it has some traditional chivalry associated with it. The Marine Corps is diverse and everything is based on merit and that seems to make a lot of sense. Honor and integrity are mandatory. People who want to be the best consider joining these teams so they can strut their stuff. That is fairly normal for each generation to make things happen for them.
That of course means that there could be other issues with public service that are impacting public service fields beyond simply the pay or challenging nature of the work. Why be a crane operator when you can be a police officer, EMT, or firefighter? Along the same line of thinking. Why be a tech guru when you can be a tech warrior? These are neuro choices and social choices that have big outcomes on a macro level.
Anyway read the article Marines Adjust Recruiting Centers
There is this idea of comingling of concepts and it may not be public service that is having difficulty attracting high recruits but perhaps some of the conversation politically that might be missing some of the opportunities to step up in performance. If you watch the news you see these institutions being drawn into wider cultural debates where consistent focus on their improvement and functioning would be a better return on political energy.
Think about this for a second. We have to make some changes to get more people interested. The young generation has a lot of good values and are prosocial by nature. Lets just say an new and improved generation. So how do we adjust so as to more naturally attract a sense of national and personal motivation in a way that the young understand and want to support at a higher level? That is where conversations get increasingly narrow and murky.
You may wish to read about a study of what young people between 18 and 34 want. They want people to be treated with respect, dignity and tolerance and they have the confidence they can sustain and improve institutions. Survey on Young People's Values. I would also add a sense of community/belonging as also a way to attract them. It doesn't sound on the surface that the youth are the problem. 🤷
I'm sure many great minds are working on this already but one thought is to commission a large study on generational values and interests/concerns (and/or metanalysis might work) to provide some destination values for institutions if they desire to make reasonable adjustments that align with this generation's values and interests/concerns (i.e. collective moral conscious). A type of navigation point when forming policy, job and recruitment adjustments.
Good for the Marine Corps because they are willing to adapt and overcome as a way of life. This is something they can teach you as they instill important life values. You just have to join. This is why I view service in general, Marine Corps in particular, as a good avenue for development from those that didn't come with a silver spoon. This is why I understand the young's interest in this particular branch. We might learn from some of our best and brightest. We just need to sort of pay attention the essence of things.
*There are many different opinions on this topic I have multiple ways of looking at it but this one is sort of interesting and seems to make logical sense.
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