50,000 Defence opportunities for young people in major apprenticeship and work experience drive
- New schemes announced today to offer 18-24-year-olds work experience with some of Britain’s biggest Defence firms
- Builds on £182 million defence skills package to tackle the number of young people not in employment, education or training
- Advances Government’s wider commitment for 500,000 more youth opportunities and supports Alan Milburn’s Review to get Britain’s ‘lost generation’ into education, employment or training
40,000 young people across the UK will be offered opportunities and employment in skilled Defence careers every year by 2030, rising to 50,000 by 2035, following the biggest ever agreement between government and business to expand routes into work, apprenticeships and training for young people in defence.
The agreement, a key part of the upcoming Industrial Strategy Defence Jobs Plan, was signed by the Defence Secretary and industry leaders at a roundtable in London yesterday, includes expanding routes into apprenticeships, providing greater work experiences opportunities, signposting unsuccessful candidates to other Defence opportunities, and increasing career engagement by 2035.
This comes after the Government’s £182 million defence skills package last year, ensuring every region benefits from MOD expenditure. The £298 billion investment through the Defence Investment Plan will see more than 60,000 new roles created in the UK.
It forms part of the Government’s drive to get more young people into education, employment or training, including new technical routes for 14-year-olds, a faster rollout of the Youth Guarantee in key sectors, and 100,000 additional work experience placements in retail, helping young people earn or learn.
The commitment comes ahead of Alan Milburn’s Young People and Work report, expected in Autumn. The interim report found work experience as widely recognised as essential to help young people gain the skills and confidence to succeed, warning that the first rung of the career ladder has thinned.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said:
“This government has delivered the biggest sustained increased in defence spending since the Cold War, to strengthen our deterrence and defend against evolving threats.
“We are using that investment to create new opportunities for young people, both because it is a moral emergency that a million young people are out of work or education and because without creating good, well-paid, high-skilled jobs in defence industries, we cannot keep our country safe.”
The Defence Secretary was joined by representatives from the UK’s leading defence companies, including Airbus, Babcock, BAE Systems, Helsing, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Navantia, Palantir, QinetiQ, Rolls Royce, Safran and Thales.
Key pledges include:
- Increasing the number of apprenticeships in Defence to at least 14,000 young people, by 2035.
- Expanding the number of work experience placements and NEETs related pathways by at least 25 per cent, by 2035.
- Industry will implement a ‘no-wrong-door’ approach so that, with the individual’s consent, suitable applicants can be considered for relevant opportunities elsewhere in the supply chain.
- Deliver a quarter more career, STEM and community engagement interactions, by 2035.
The Government’s largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War is opening new career opportunities for young people across the UK. Alan Milburn highlighted the importance of work experience, warning that the first step onto the career ladder has become increasingly difficult for many.
The Armed Forces is the UK’s largest apprenticeship providers, and with 462,000 people working in roles related to UK defence across the country, the sector is uniquely placed to provide the work experience, skills and confidence that can help young people take the first step into a career for life.
The upcoming Defence Jobs Plan will set out how government and industry will address the demand for around 53,000 additional workers across the industry by 2035.
Alan Milburn, Chair of the Young People and Work Review, said:
“Every young person deserves a first chance into work, but for too many the first rungs of the career ladder have disappeared.
“Defence is one of our great industries – it has both the scale and the opportunity to give young people the experience, skills and confidence they need to build a career.
“This commitment from industry and government is exactly the kind of action that can change young people’s lives. It is a win-win. More opportunities for young people. A sustainable supply of skilled labour for industry. It shows what is possible when employers step up.”
