10th June 2026
Universities across England awarded a share of £80 million to offer up to 2,500 student places, as well as help build new facilities to support increased capacity growth over the next decade.
£80 million of grants for institutions to offer 2,500 new student places so more young people can land key jobs in defence.
Funding will also help build brand new teaching facilities to support the capacity growth over the next decade.
Boost to defence-related and technical skills will meet industry needs, bolster national security, and deliver on the Strategic Defence Review and Industrial Strategy.
Thousands more young people will be equipped with the skills needed for a career in the defence sector as the Government awards £80 million to 24 universities and colleges across England.
Institutions from Newcastle to Exeter will use the funding to expand the number of places and improve facilities for courses which are vital to national security including defence-focused engineering and computing.
The grants will help provide the defence industry with the future workforce it needs and give more young people the chance to secure well-paid careers. For instance, workers in the defence nuclear sector earn a wage premium of on average approximately 20% above the national average wage, based on a MOD survey of the main industry organisations.
The 24 winners – selected from 112 applicants – will receive a share of £50 million to create almost 2,500 new student places over five years starting from this autumn. Funding is focused on engineering and computer science, including cyber security, robotics, autonomous technology, aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing, where defence has some of its greatest skills needs.
A further £30 million will be invested in projects including building brand new teaching facilities to support the capacity growth over the next decade.
The announcement delivers on the Strategic Defence Review’s recommendation to boost the pipeline of skilled workers who can contribute to the UK’s national security.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP said:
We are creating more opportunities for young people across the UK to learn new skills and secure good, well-paid jobs in defence. This funding will see 24 superb universities and colleges offer more students places to learn these skills of the future.
We know our outstanding Armed Forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them, and through this investment we’re strengthening our national security and helping drive defence as an engine for growth.
The funding will support the creation of new undergraduate degrees in areas such as Cyber Defence Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and increase defence-related industry placements and projects. In the coming years, this will create a pipeline of skilled graduates in the defence sector and enable more joint projects between academic institutions and defence industries.
The MOD is the largest provider of apprenticeships in the UK, supporting over 24,000 apprenticeships last year. This is the largest single investment within the £182 million Defence Industrial Strategy skills package, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to ensuring the defence sector has the workforce it needs for the future.
Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith said:
A strong defence sector needs a strong skills pipeline. This investment will help thousands more people gain the qualifications needed for rewarding careers in defence, working to protect our national security and boost our economic growth.
By expanding access to high-demand courses in the defence sector, we are creating new opportunities for learners across the country while helping employers access the skilled workforce they need.
This is a clear example of education and industry working together to deliver growth, strengthen Britain’s defence capability and support the jobs of the future.
The investment comes as part of the government’s Strategic Priorities Grant and boosts places for students from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, helping to build skills and drive growth across the country. Work is ongoing with devolved governments to assess specific skills needs and funding options across the rest of the UK.
The competition, run by the Office for Students, was designed to connect education more closely to the defence sector’s skills needs. This is being delivered through the Government’s commitment to the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War - hitting 2.6% of GDP from 2027.
The Government’s comprehensive defence skills package also includes £50 million to establish five Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Blackpool, Plymouth, Lincoln, Rotherham and Yeovil, training people in the skills needed to secure new defence jobs in this growing industry.
CEO of ADS Group, Kevin Craven said:
Expanding capacity across universities and colleges will open up more high-quality pathways into well-paid jobs in sectors critical to national security, from engineering to cyber - and is the most recent example of MoD putting people first.
Our latest data highlights that increases in defence investment could create 50,000 jobs by 2030, on top of the 180,000 high-quality jobs already found across our sectors. Demand is rising for skilled talent in our sectors, and against our wider complex geopolitical backdrop this is a hugely welcome announcement!
Vivienne Stern, MBE, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said:
Universities are central to building the skills needed for a new era of UK defence, drawing on their world-leading teaching, research, and partnerships with industry.
We welcome the outcomes of the £80 million Strategic Priorities Grant competition to strengthen the skills pipeline. With over 100 applications to participate, universities are ready to step up to deliver for the country, providing opportunities for young people and supporting the industry‑aligned talent that the UK defence sector relies on.
It is critical that the wider Strategic Priorities Grant continues to support high-cost subjects that are vital to the UK’s needs”
Notes to editors
The 24 institutions which have been awarded funding are:
Bournemouth University Higher Education Corporation
University of Winchester
Lincoln College
City College Plymouth
The University of Birmingham
University of Liverpool
Birmingham City University
University of Durham
University of Lincoln
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
The University of Surrey
Teesside University
The University of Warwick
The University of Westminster
Yeovil College
Aston University
University of Exeter
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
University of Plymouth
The University of Cumbria
St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London
The University of Bath
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering
Scotland
Why no universities in Scotland gained.
The short answer is that this particular funding competition was deliberately restricted to institutions in England, not because Scottish universities were judged unsuitable, but because of how higher education is funded within the UK.
"Universities and colleges across England awarded a share of £80 million..." and "Work is ongoing with devolved governments to assess specific skills needs and funding options across the rest of the UK."
Why only England?
There are several reasons.
Higher education is devolved
Education is a devolved responsibility.
This means funding universities is handled by:
England – primarily through the Office for Students and the Department for Education.
Scotland – through the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government.
Wales and Northern Ireland have their own funding systems.
The competition was run by the Office for Students, whose remit is England.
Defence is reserved—but education is not
This creates an interesting constitutional issue.
The Ministry of Defence wants more engineers, cyber specialists and scientists for UK defence.
However, universities themselves are funded through devolved education systems.
Westminster therefore cannot simply instruct Scottish universities to expand courses in the same way it can in England.
Instead it needs agreement with the Scottish Government on how any funding would operate.
3. The UK Government says Scotland will have its own discussions
The press release does not say Scotland is excluded permanently.
Instead it says:
"Work is ongoing with devolved governments to assess specific skills needs and funding options across the rest of the UK."
That suggests further announcements could follow for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But Scotland has a major defence industry
This is why many observers were surprised that no Scottish universities appear among the 24 successful institutions.
Scotland is home to major defence employers including:
BAE Systems on the Clyde.
Babcock International at Rosyth.
Leonardo UK in Edinburgh.
Numerous aerospace, naval, electronics and cyber-security firms.
The UK Government itself has recognised Scotland's importance to defence manufacturing and engineering.
In March it announced a £50 million Scotland Defence Growth Deal, including plans for Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in eastern and western Scotland—provided matching funding can be agreed with the Scottish Government.
Could Scottish universities lose out?
Potentially, yes—at least in the short term.
English universities will now receive funding to:
expand engineering courses;
increase cyber-security places;
develop defence-focused degrees;
build specialist laboratories;
strengthen links with defence companies.
If Scottish universities do not receive comparable investment, they could be at a competitive disadvantage when attracting students, recruiting staff and developing new facilities.
The wider political issue
This announcement also highlights one of the recurring tensions of devolution.
The UK Government wants to build defence capability across the UK, but many of the tools needed universities, colleges and skills funding—are controlled by the devolved administrations.
That means UK-wide industrial strategies often require cooperation between Westminster and Holyrood. If agreement is slow or funding mechanisms differ, Scotland can appear to miss out on UK initiatives even where the policy objective is intended to benefit the whole country.
Overall
The omission of Scottish universities from this announcement is primarily an administrative and constitutional issue rather than a judgement about Scotland's importance to defence. The £80 million competition was designed as an England-only scheme because it was delivered through England's higher education funding system. At the same time, the Government has said it is working with the devolved governments on equivalent arrangements, and Scotland has already been promised a separate Defence Growth Deal aimed at strengthening skills and innovation.
From a Scottish perspective, however, there is a legitimate question: with Scotland already playing such a significant role in UK shipbuilding, aerospace, naval engineering and defence manufacturing, should Scottish universities have received equivalent investment at the same time rather than being left to await separate negotiations? That is likely to become an increasingly prominent issue as the UK expands defence spending over the coming decade.