Working families across the country will be provided opportunities through the Defence Industrial Strategy, from highly skilled engineering positions to apprenticeships for young people starting their careers, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
Defence Secretary John Healey will launch the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) on a visit to defense technology firm Rowden in Bristol on Monday (8 September), where he will open the firm’s new facility.
Central to the DIS, local economies will be boosted through the launch of a £250 million fund for Defence Growth Deals, which will improve collaboration, foster innovation, and create jobs in areas with untapped potential.
Five initial Defence Growth Deals will be created across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Building on the success of the Team Barrow approach at the home of nuclear submarine building in Barrow-in-Furness, Defence Growth Deals will identify areas with high growth potential, and bring together industry, local and national government, and academia to make sure that potential is realised.
Each Defence Growth Deal will combine defence and wider government investment to harness local sub-sector strengths, drive innovation, and deliver tailored support where needed, such as in skills, housing, and planning, to boost local economies, attract private investment, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Initial ADS analysis indicates there could be an additional demand of up to 50,000 defence jobs by 2034/35 with increases in defence spending. Defence Growth Deals will play an important role in capitalising on that skilled employment potential for communities across the UK.
The five deals will be backed by a total of £250 million of defence spending over the next five years, underpinned by this Government’s historic increase in defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027 and the ambition to hit 3% in the next Parliament.
The first Defence Growth Deals will be in:
- Plymouth – Home to the largest naval base in Western Europe, which will see £4 billion of investment over a 10-year period, the city has recently been designated as the national centre for marine autonomy to drive further innovation in the crucial maritime autonomous systems sector.
- South Yorkshire – A key region for the research, development and engineering of high-grade components and materials critical to the next generation of maritime, land and air capabilities. This includes specialist steel for gun barrels and nuclear submarines.
- Wales – The country is becoming a leader in UAV development and testing, from companies such as Tekever in Pembrokeshire, to testing sites including the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, and academic institutions including the Welsh Centre for Defence Autonomy.
- Scotland – Home to a dynamic mix of growth industries, from a rapidly advancing space sector, to next generation maritime innovation centred around the Clyde and Rosyth, and critical technology superclusters anchored by world-class academic institutions.
- Northern Ireland – Home to a diverse range of defence and dual-use SMEs, the country is recognised as a leading cyber security hub, boosted by Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies and Momentum One Zero. It is also home to Thales and Harland & Wolff, companies that are critical to our support for Ukraine and our maritime strength.
Leave a Reply