Submarine programme to support thousands of jobs

The UK government’s decision to build up to 12 attack submarines as part of the AUKUS programme will directly support 21,000 highly skilled jobs and double the number of apprentice and graduate roles over the next decade.

Sir Keir Starmer is announcing £15bn investment to transform critical parts of the defence nuclear industry, significantly expanding nuclear submarines with up to 12 new SSN-AUKUS vessels.

The programme will support 30,000 highly skilled jobs and help to deliver 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles across the next 10 years.

The prime minister said: “From the supply lines to the front lines, this government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation’s freedom and security.

“National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country.

“This Strategic Defence Review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our Armed Forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future.”

In addition, the procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons for the UK Armed Forces will support around 800 defence jobs, and a £15bn investment in the sovereign warhead programme during this parliament.

This will include the modernisation of infrastructure at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, Berkshire, supporting more than 9,000 jobs and thousands more in the UK supply chain, “from Scotland to Somerset”.

There will also be more than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing, improving the lives of thousands of British military personnel and their families.

To ensure the demands of this expanded programme can be met, the Ministry of Defence said the government is working closely with industry partners to rapidly expand training and development opportunities, aiming to double defence and civil nuclear apprentice and graduate intakes.

This article has been corrected following clarification from the Ministry of Defence.

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