Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has welcomed the Scottish Government match-funding the UK Government’s £10 million commitment to create two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs) in Scotland.
Alyn Smith, Scottish Government Innovation minister, confirmed that Holyrood would partner with the UK Government on the project.
The DTECs, announced in March, are part of a £50m Scottish Defence Growth Deal and will help provide young people with jobs being created in engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technology.
The colleges will support Scotland’s defence clusters in the east and west of the country and will benefit from the engineering and innovation centres previously announced.
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.
Mr Alexander said: “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.”
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