Defence training will be ramped up to a “wartime pace” in a new education drive aimed at growing the UK’s skilled workforce, the Government has said.
Under the plans, five new “technical excellence colleges” will be set up across the country as well as targeted short courses and Stem schemes for school students to pursue careers in the sector.
The £182m funding package will be at the heart of a new defence industrial strategy to be unveiled on Monday.
It includes Regional Stem initiatives for “thousands” of school-age students over the next four years to pursue careers in the sector, as well as targeted short courses for people already working in specific defence industries.
There will also be higher education investment to increase places on defence-related courses, a new apprenticeship and graduate clearing system, and five new technical excellence colleges.
Applications for the five colleges are set to go live by the end of this year and with successful colleges will be launched in 2026, according to the government.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the strategy would offer opportunities for young people, help veterans into employment and “equip the UK workforce with the expertise” needed for “the demands of a rapidly-evolving defence sector to innovate at a wartime pace”.
The strategy will frame defence as “the engine room for national renewal” and seek to equip workers with skills needed for the future, such as submarine engineers and cyber warfare specialists.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the drive was “the biggest defence skills plan in decades” and would help to boost both national security and jobs creation.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it would “break down barriers to opportunity for people in every corner of our country”.
UK defence spending is set to rise by £13.4bn annually by 2027, pushing the total budget beyond £70bn.