The UK defence sector’s pressing need for a fresh influx of engineering talent creates challenges for industry and opportunities for individuals.

With the defence sector requiring a growing range of both traditional and non-traditional engineering skills, and almost half of its employers reporting a shortage of skilled engineers, the sector is increasingly looking to other areas of industry in an effort to grow and broaden its pipeline of talent.

In this panel session The Engineer will bring together a panel of experts from across the defence sector to explore this trend; examine some of the opportunities for engineers considering a move into defence; and take a look at the sector’s shifting skills requirements. We will also examine some of the ways in which organisations in defence are successfully reaching beyond their core community in the search for fresh talent.

Attendees will gain first-hand insights from some of the UK’s leading engineering employers and thinkers on the opportunities available and the practicalities of transitioning to a different sector as well as insights into how some of the sector’s leading organisations are successfully engaging with the wider engineering skills base.

Discussion areas
- Key skills requirements & opportunities
- Key trends, technologies and projects that are driving these requirements
- Transferrable skills
- Practical advice on transitioning to the defence sector
- Why consider a career in defence?

The session will bring together 4 – 5 panelists from across industry and will be chaired by Jon Excell, Editor of The Engineer magazine