New UK-EU defence deal will help boost business growth: but it’s missing the people element

Engineering by Murray

New UK-EU defence deal will help boost business growth: but it’s missing the people element

The new security and defence partnership announced yesterday as part of the EU Reset Deal will boost the UK’s defence capabilities, but it lacks crucial details around skills growth and development. That’s according to Engineering by Murray.

As part of the deal, the UK’s defence industry has been granted the opportunity to participate in the £150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund, in a move to increase collaboration and co-operation between the UK and EU.

However, as Chris Nelson, Associate Director at Engineering by Murray, explains, the deal is missing a crucial element – how to address the skills gap in the industry:

“Yesterday’s announcement will no doubt help strengthen the UK and EU’s defence capabilities, which will be beneficial for all in the industry. However, the detail that has been published so far is lacking one key element: what steps will be taken to increase the volume of core skills to deliver against the growing demand. The STEM skills shortages facing defence employers are significant and will hinder any potential growth unless addressed quickly.

“The access we now have to the SAFE fund will certainly help, but only if this investment is channelled appropriately into the right type of skills. There’s a range of specialist engineering talent needed to deliver against the emerging demands of the defence industry and at the moment, these aren’t being developed on the scale needed.

“The UK announced just last week reforms to its immigration plans, which could make it more difficult for employers to bring talent into the country to fill resourcing gaps. There’s a wealth of opportunity in the defence industry, but plans cannot succeed without the people to deliver them – and at the moment, there’s no clear indication as to how this is going to be resolved.”


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