We are launching a major new initiative aimed at tackling one of the UK’s most pressing defence challenges: ensuring the nation has the engineering skills needed to support future defence capability, national security and technological sovereignty.
Unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow, Engineering the Future of Defence is a new skills study developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford’s SKOPE (Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance). The initiative will bring together government, academia and industry to explore how engineering education can evolve at the pace demanded by both rapidly advancing technologies, including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber security and advanced manufacturing and growth in the defence sector, led by increased investment.
The announcement comes as Babcock continues to gain national recognition for its own investment in workforce development, having catapulted from 29th to 12th place in the Department for Education’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings and securing a place in the Top 20 of The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2026.
The UK’s defence sector faces growing pressure to recruit and retain highly skilled engineers and technical specialists. Yet demand for specialist skills continues to outpace supply, while the speed of technological change increasingly challenges traditional education and training models.
Against this backdrop, Engineering the Future of Defence will examine the growing gap between engineering curricula and industry requirements. The programme begins with a series of in-depth interviews involving representatives from government, academia and industry, followed by a nationwide survey of UK STEM talent. This will help to gauge the aspirations and challenges future defence engineers face. Findings will inform a co-authored report with the University of Oxford’s SKOPE, due to be published in Autumn 2026, with the aim of driving evidence-based policy discussions and strengthening the UK’s long-term engineering capability.
Sir Nick Hine, Chief Growth Officer Babcock said: “Defence is undergoing one of the most profound periods of technological transformation in a generation. From autonomous systems and digital engineering to artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, the pace of change is accelerating rapidly.
“At the same time, the sector faces a critical challenge: ensuring we have the skills and talent pipeline needed to deliver and sustain these capabilities. This is not a challenge for any one organisation to solve alone.
“Alongside the University of Oxford’s SKOPE research centre, we’re bringing together industry, academia and government to better understand how engineering education and workforce development can evolve to meet future needs. If we want to maintain sovereign capability and national resilience, we must invest in the people who will design, build and support the systems of tomorrow.”
The initiative was introduced during a Farnborough International Airshow panel discussion featuring representatives from Babcock, the University of Oxford, the Royal Academy of Engineering and wider skills stakeholders. The discussion brought together leaders to discuss the evolving skills landscape and the challenges facing the defence industry.
James Robson, Director of the Oxford University Centre on Skills, Knowledge, and Organisational Performance (SKOPE), which is based at the Department of Education, added: “At SKOPE, our aim is to understand the links between skills and knowledge, performance and productivity, and economic futures, and working alongside Babcock to examine this for the defence sector is already proving to be fertile ground for breakthrough findings.
“We’re deep-diving into the skills ecosystem in defence, and speaking to those studying and preparing for their engineering careers, to uncover what an evolution in defence and engineering skills should look like. Crucially, we’ll also consider what is needed from a policy perspective and from industry leaders to enable this transformation, and set up the defence sector for decades of success.”
The new programme builds on Babcock’s broader commitment to developing engineering capability across the UK. Over the 2025/26 period, we have welcomed more than 1600 new graduate and apprentices and continue to invest in critical skills areas including cyber security, advanced manufacturing, nuclear engineering and space systems. Our Emerging Talent Programme has recently been recognised through multiple national awards, including Large Employer Skills Champion of the Year and New Talent Inspiration Programme of the Year at the Enginuity Skills Awards 2026.
Babcock’s award-winning skills programmes include apprenticeships, graduate development schemes, service leaver recruitment pathways and career-change opportunities. We also continue to support future talent through initiatives such as our Festival of Engineering, which has inspired thousands of young people to explore careers in science, technology and engineering.
As defence technologies continue to evolve, we believe strengthening collaboration between educators, policymakers and employers will be essential to ensuring the UK develops the skills required to support future growth, innovation and national security.