WIREDGOV

Two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges are coming to Scotland after the Scottish Government confirmed it will match fund the UK Government's £10 million,

• The  Colleges in the East and West of Scotland will upskill young people, enabling them to benefit from good, well-paid jobs in Scotland’s growing defence sector.
• Scotland already benefits from over £2 billion a year in MoD spending, which supports more than 12,000 jobs.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander today welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision to match fund the UK Government’s £10 commitment to create two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs) in Scotland, as part of a £50 million Scottish Defence Growth Deal.

The DTECs will help provide young people with new specialist pathways into high-skilled, well-paid careers in defence engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technology are coming to Scotland.

The colleges will be located to support Scotland’s defence clusters in the East and West of the country and will benefit from the engineering and innovation centres previously announced as part of the Scottish Defence Growth Deal.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said:

In March we announced a £10 million commitment to develop two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Scotland. I’m pleased that the Scottish Government has now agreed to match fund these colleges to give our young people the skills they need to secure high-skilled, well-paid careers in Scotland’s defence sector in the years to come.

Scotland is a defence industrial powerhouse and is already benefiting from increased UK Government investment as we deliver a defence dividend for Scotland, creating new skilled jobs, new training places and new opportunities for communities while keeping us and our allies secure. It is crucial that we continue to develop the skilled workforce needed to support this growing sector.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP said:

Finally matching DTEC funding is welcome news for Scottish careers. The colleges will provide routes into high-skilled, well-paid roles in the defence sector which is crucial to the work of keeping the UK safe around the clock.

This is an important part of our £50 million Defence Growth Deal - announced back in March - to boost growth opportunities for Scotland that supports our Armed Forces.

Industry analysis suggests there could be demand for up to 50,000 additional defence jobs across the UK by 2034/35. 

Scotland already benefits from over £2.5 billion a year in Ministry of Defence spending, which directly supports 12,200 jobs.
 
The Scottish Secretary launched the UK Government’s Defence Growth Deal on 12 March, committing £10 million towards the creation of two DTECs — one in the East and one in the West of Scotland — as part of a wider £50 million deal.

The offer remained conditional on the Scottish Government providing match funding. More here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scotland-set-for-skills-and-innovation-boost-as-50-million-defence-growth-deal-unveiled

Scottish Government Innovation minister Alyn Smith on October 15th confirmed that Holyrood ministers would “partner with the UK Government” on the project.