Extra 1,300 defence engineering jobs a ‘double-edged sword’
5 September 2014
More than 1,300 engineering jobs are up for grabs across the UK after the Ministry of Defence signed a £3.5bn contract for 589 new armoured fighting vehicles – the biggest order placed by the ministry in 30 years.
Fri, 5 Sep 2014
More than 1,300 engineering jobs are up for grabs across the UK after the Ministry of Defence signed a £3.5bn contract for 589 new armoured fighting vehicles – the biggest order placed by the ministry in 30 years.
Karen Silk, managing director of engineering recruitment firm Capital International Staffing, said while the creation of so many jobs was good news, it was a “two-edged sword”.
“The biggest issue with it is that we are already short of engineers and if we need an additional 1,300, where are we going to get them from? We need to start thinking out of the box.”
She said it could be the small engineering firms who could suffer most as engineers chase the bigger contracts, like this one.
A statement from the MoD said the vehicles, known as Scout specialist vehicles, were designed by South Wales-based General Dynamics UK.
They will be used for roles including surveillance and reconnaissance, and are equipped with 40mm cannons.
Deliveries of the vehicles are planned to start in 2017 and will be ready to deploy from the end of 2020.
More than 1,300 engineering jobs are up for grabs across the UK after the Ministry of Defence signed a £3.5bn contract for 589 new armoured fighting vehicles – the biggest order placed by the ministry in 30 years.
Karen Silk, managing director of engineering recruitment firm Capital International Staffing, said while the creation of so many jobs was good news, it was a “two-edged sword”.
“The biggest issue with it is that we are already short of engineers and if we need an additional 1,300, where are we going to get them from? We need to start thinking out of the box.”
She said it could be the small engineering firms who could suffer most as engineers chase the bigger contracts, like this one.
A statement from the MoD said the vehicles, known as Scout specialist vehicles, were designed by South Wales-based General Dynamics UK.
They will be used for roles including surveillance and reconnaissance, and are equipped with 40mm cannons.
Deliveries of the vehicles are planned to start in 2017 and will be ready to deploy from the end of 2020.
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