Thousands of work and training placements for young people

New schemes announced today to offer 18-24-year-olds work experience with some of Britain’s biggest Defence firms 

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.