All 18- to 27-year-olds in the Netherlands are to be asked to take part in a survey to assess their interest in working for the defence ministry, junior armed forces minister Gijs Tuinman told MPs on Monday.

The measure is one of a string of efforts to increase the size of the Dutch military to at least 100,000 soldiers, reservists, and civilian workers, and perhaps double that in the future, Tuinman said in his briefing.

The survey will be voluntary, and there are no plans to reintroduce military service for all young people, Tuinman said. The aim is to have the expanded armed forces up and running by 2030, if not earlier.

Active military service stopped in the Netherlands in 1997. Nowadays, all boys and girls are sent a letter in the year they turn 17, informing them that they have been added to the military service register. They can be called up at any time if the Netherlands goes to war with another country before they turn 45.

The ministry, he said “is building a deployable and scalable armed forces capable of adapting to threats, providing deterrence, and, if necessary, defending the territory and interests of the Netherlands and its Nato allies.”

“The need for rapid availability of such a force has been evident since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it has become even more urgent as the geopolitical reality increasingly requires Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security on the continent,” Tuinman said.

The ministry currently has a workforce of some 75,000, including 8,000 reservists who can be called on if necessary.

Prime minister Dick Schoof told reporters on Monday that the Netherlands is focused on attracting new recruits on a voluntary basis. “We think we can take the steps we need to take like this,” he said. “The survey is an important way of finding out what people think… and will help young people to make an adult choice.”

In Sweden, 18 year olds must fill in a survey about their skills, motivation and affinity with working for the defence ministry. Based on this, officials decide who has to enlist.

Last year, the Dutch defence ministry introduced a “service year” for school leavers to test out being a member of the armed forces, and 80% of those recruits have opted to stay involved, either as a recruit or a reservist.

The ministry also intends to change its selection and screening processes to make them more efficient and to match candidates to jobs based on their skills. This will also include determining where selection and screening “can be adjusted to allow more candidates to qualify for military service.”

“In the future, it should be possible for individuals with conditions such as limited colour vision or food intolerances to serve under specific conditions,” Tuinman said. “The operational context in which a service member functions is paramount; military personnel must be able to carry out their duties safely.”