Security cleared jobs news roundup: August 2023
Keep up-to-date with some of the biggest stories in the world of security cleared jobs in our monthly roundup.
We’re rounding up some of the biggest security cleared stories of the past few weeks. In August, a Nuclear Skills Taskforce was established to develop a pipeline of talented experts, an £89 million contract was awarded to boost connectivity for military personnel, work began to overhaul the Civil Service Jobs platform and the UK’s most advanced fighter jets were confirmed to be on target for 2035.
New nuclear taskforce set to address skills gap
A UK Nuclear Skills Taskforce will boost skills and growth opportunities within the sector. Led by Sir Simon Bollom, the project aims to streamline how Britain builds nuclear proficiencies across its civil and defence workforce.
James Cartlidge, minister for defence procurement, said: “The creation of this new taskforce will challenge the whole of the UK’s nuclear sector to be ambitious in addressing the nuclear skills gap.”
Among increasing competition internationally for nuclear experts, the taskforce will prime the UK for success in the future, helping the sector to develop a long-term, sustainable pipeline of talented professionals.
UK Armed Forces to receive £89 million connectivity boost
Military personnel are set to benefit from increased connectivity, with an £89 million contract awarded to BAE Systems to manufacture a Wide Area Network known as ‘TRINITY’. This will offer a state-of-the-art battlefield internet capability to British forces.
The contract will support 60 UK jobs, as well as facilitate further investment into UK skills by BAE Systems, its partners and the wider support chain. James Heappey, minister for the armed forces, commented: “In this continually evolving environment, it’s vital that our personnel have access to world-leading communications capabilities while on operations.”
‘TRINITY’ is a component of the Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems (LE TacCIS) programme, which aims to deliver a new generation of tactical military communications.
£17 million government jobs platform set to address recruitment issues
A brand new government jobs platform will be launched to enable agencies to tackle their “biggest recruitment challenges”. The Cabinet Office will invest £17 million into the project, which is set to replace the long-standing Civil Service Jobs website.
Work will be led by the Government People Group, a Cabinet Office-based unit, which announced: “We want the next generation of Civil Service Jobs to resolve some of our biggest recruitment challenges: improving time to hire, standardising much of our recruitment process and giving users a more intuitive experience.”
The Cabinet Office started speaking with prospective suppliers in August. Currently, the technology underpinning Civil Service Jobs is supported by recruitment specialist Oleeo, which signed a four-year, £10.9 million deal in May 2021.
Britain’s most advanced fighter jets set for 2035 unveiling
A new generation of fighter aircraft is set to be produced by 2035 in a joint project involving the UK, Japan and Italy. The deadline was in doubt following a request from Saudi Arabia to join the initiative, but Herman Claesen, managing director of Future Combat Air Systems at BAE Systems, noted that all parties are “absolutely committed to that requirement”.
The project aims to address the increasing security threats posed by Russia and China. The joint taskforce is attempting to produce the aircraft in approximately half the time it took to construct the Eurofighter Typhoon, making use of digital tools and advanced manufacturing methods.