At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that’s still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
Since taking office at the beginning of 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been thinking about ways to make the Bundeswehr more attractive as a career. He said he has received 65 concrete proposals from his ministry on recruitment and reforming training methods.
Sounds pretty much like how it is in the North (Scandinavian model ) afaik.
added: example Dutch army chief article
"Some 600 youngsters took part in a voluntary year of service with the armed forces introduced this year along similar lines to Sweden. Wijnen said he hopes that in the future 2,000 to 3,000 youngsters will take part, around one third of whom will probably sign up for an army career. "
No.
Here, volunteering for military service already implies becoming part of whatever branch the candidate applies to. It isn’t a trial experience. Some will be integrated into the permanent ranks, others will serve a few years under contract and then relieved of duty.