UK to open cyber warfare defence colleges with £182 million funding boost

The UK government will fund a network of defence-focused technical colleges, including specialist cyber warfare programmes, as part of a £182 million package announced under a new Defence Industrial Strategy.

The Ministry of Defence said five existing further education colleges will be converted into "technical excellence" institutions that will accept pupils aged 16 and over, with the first intakes due next year. The programme will offer courses in cyber operations, submarine engineering and specialist welding, and the MoD said some students will be taught "emerging technologies" and routed into industry roles.

The funding package will also support thousands of short courses for existing staff and new recruits and includes an £80 million allocation for universities to expand defence-related degree places and upgrade facilities. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is set to add a defence section to its website to guide applicants interested in defence training and careers, the MoD said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the new institutions would help supply a skilled workforce. "They will provide a ready skilled workforce and secure the UK's place in the world," she said. Defence Secretary John Healey described the measures as the "biggest defence skills plan in decades," saying the policy would "create well-paid, high-skilled jobs for young people for generations to come." In a column published in the Daily Mail, Healey wrote that the strategy aims to "place the UK at the leading edge of innovation" and ensure a wider economic dividend from defence spending.

The move is intended to address longstanding recruitment and technical skills shortages across the defence sector. The MoD and senior ministers have cited concerns about retention and the difficulty of filling specialist roles, which have been highlighted in recent assessments of UK defence readiness. The funding announcement follows an externally led Strategic Defence Review that warned the armed forces were not optimised to fight a peer military and identified shortfalls in medical capacity and deployable personnel.

Ministers said applications to participate in the technical excellence colleges will open later this year to the 256 further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and designated post-secondary training providers across the UK. The MoD indicated that programmes will combine classroom instruction with industry-standard facilities to prepare students for roles in defence companies and the armed forces.

The Defence Industrial Strategy package is part of a broader government effort to boost defence capability and industrial capacity. The government has signalled plans to increase defence spending and to encourage regional economic growth through defence contracts and training. Labour has framed the colleges as a way to boost recruitment and create jobs in the defence sector.

Industry reactions have been mixed in past procurement and skills debates. Smaller British manufacturers have previously criticised the MoD for awarding only about a quarter of its spending to them, and business groups have urged clearer routes for smaller suppliers to win work. The government said the strategy will include further measures to support British firms alongside the education and training investments.

The colleges represent one strand of the new strategy; the full Defence Industrial Strategy will set out additional initiatives. Defence officials said the approach reflects a changed strategic environment in which rapid technological evolution is reshaping warfare and the UK needs a workforce trained in cutting-edge capabilities. The MoD described the intervention as providing both long-term vocational routes and shorter retraining opportunities to bolster resilience in times of crisis.

The announcement follows earlier political proposals to raise defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 and to expand capacity further in later years. The government has framed the package as aligning training and education with those spending ambitions, while external reviewers have warned that immediate shortfalls in readiness and personnel remain a significant challenge for the armed forces.

Ministers said detailed application guidance for colleges and further information for prospective students will be published in the coming months as part of the roll-out of the Defence Industrial Strategy.