Overview

• The strategy confirms a £182 million package to ramp defence training to a “wartime pace,” including targeted short courses, regional STEM initiatives and new apprenticeship and graduate clearing routes.
• Five ‘technical excellence colleges’ will be selected from existing further‑education providers, with applications opening by year‑end and the first institutions due to launch in 2026.
• The programme creates five Defence Growth Deals worth £250 million over five years for Plymouth, South Yorkshire, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to grow local supply chains and jobs.
• Region-specific priorities include maritime autonomy in Plymouth, specialist materials and components in South Yorkshire, UAVs in Wales, and space, maritime and technology industries in Scotland, with Northern Ireland building on cybersecurity and maritime strengths.
• Government analysis points to potential demand for up to 50,000 additional defence jobs by 2034/35 as spending rises toward 2.6% of GDP by 2027, with detailed regional deal terms to be negotiated in the coming months.