Comment: Why you should consider a career in defence

The UK’s aerospace and defence industry continues to be one of the most exciting and cutting-edge places to develop a career as an engineer.  Where else can you play a role in protecting your country while creating some of the most advanced technologies in the world?  

The UK defence sector remains a powerful source of technological advancement which benefit society in numerous ways. These advancements play a significant role not only in advancing our military’s ability to protect our country, but also have widespread application in everyday life.

Ubiquitous technologies like GPS, radar, microwaves, synthetic materials, cybersecurity for e-commerce and online banking and the internet itself can trace their origins back to UK military research and development.

As one of the nation’s most strategically important sectors, attracting a highly skilled workforce of engineers into defence is essential for maintaining the security of the UK and its allies. But skilled engineers are also essential to helping the UK maintain its technological and operational edge, while creating opportunities for the country to export their innovations to our allies around the world.

According to ADS Group, the representative trade body for the UK’s aerospace, defence and security sector, there is no shortage of work. It reports that there are currently over 10,000 jobs open in UK.

The burgeoning UK Space sector, the tri-nation AUKUS pact and programmes such as the global F-35 programme promise work for British engineers for decades to come. The value of the F-35 programme to the UK is estimated at £45.2 billion Gross Value Add and over 20,000 jobs for British employees. 

These programs also highlight the diversity of skill sets required. Engineers from every discipline are needed by UK industry.

As advanced technologies such as AI, cybersecurity and autonomy reshape the nature of defence, the need for highly specialised engineers, technologists and scientists is greater than ever.

Developing new sovereign defence capabilities like hypersonics, autonomous platforms and the UK’s ability to go to space will mean huge opportunities for homegrown engineering talent.

Equally, delivering key defence capabilities on land, at sea, in the air, in space and in cyberspace, or indeed the continued support of the nuclear deterrent requires a steady flow of every type of engineer through our education and recruitment system.

And yet, defence, like many others, is facing a major recruitment challenge.

Stiff competition from other sectors, an aging workforce and too few young people choosing STEM subjects to become the engineers of the future imperil the sector here in the UK.

According to the Defence Suppliers Forum’s People and Skills Board, of which I am Co-Chair, recruitment shortfalls in areas such as software development and systems engineering are becoming particularly acute.

The demand for expertise in areas such as cybersecurity and AI has spiked, but these are fields where the industry is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain talent.

However, the sector is not sitting back on its laurels.

It is taking action to attract new engineers to play a role in our nationally important work through several government initiatives and industry collaborations.

A large part of how we will succeed in attracting more engineering talent will be through explaining what’s on offer, how to access it and where it will be.

That’s why the People and Skills Board at the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) is working closely with the new government to support recruitment across the sector and across the country.

Defence companies are working individually to modernise their own workplace environments. Some are offering flexible working arrangements and remote work options.

At Lockheed Martin, we have offered a flexible approach to the working week since before the Covid pandemic hit. Today we operate a four-day week so our employees can enjoy a three-day weekend, a move that has led to improved productivity.

The industry is also working collectively to support bringing more small and medium companies into the defence supply chain though such initiatives as JOSCAR – an industry wide supplier database facility – or our SMEUnite framework which facilities smaller companies in gaining access to defence business.

For aspiring employees, we continue to spread the word that in addition to early careers routes into our industry such as Apprenticeships and Graduate schemes, we will retrain people wanting to change careers or disciplines in later life – known as the STEM returner route.

As to the where, the defence industry offers opportunities all over the country, especially as new requirements and opportunities emerge.

For example, together with the UK Space Agency and Northumberland University, Lockheed Martin has invested £50 million in setting up the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST), which we hope will be the first step in creating a new space industry hub and many jobs in the North East of England.

More jobs in space are emerging as far north as the Shetland Islands with our involvement in the UK’s vertical launch programme, while the F-35 programme is already supporting over 20,000 jobs across numerous regions of the UK over the next few decades.

I would argue that if you want an exciting, rich, and fulfilling career using your expertise to make a real difference to people’s lives you should seriously consider the aerospace and defence sector.