Skills for the next generation of Defence
Max Sasnauskas, Principal Research Engineer at NCC explores why hands‑on, applied experience is becoming essential for the next generation of defence engineers and what it means for the UK’s future capability.
As an engineer who has spent years working directly with advanced composite materials and manufacturing processes, I’ve seen first-hand how theory only becomes meaningful once it’s applied. Knowledge comes from experience, not just a textbook. It comes from standing next to someone who’s shaped and tested composite materials repeatedly, learning to recognise how they respond when real‑world pressures replace controlled environments.
This is the gap the UK defence sector is facing. It isn’t simply about producing more graduates. It’s about producing engineers who’ve touched real manufacturing before they’re asked to make decisions about it.
A skills gap with real consequence
Skills England projects demand for around 82,000 workers in priority defence occupations by 2035 — with increasing need for highly skilled engineers who can translate innovation into production at pace. Composites are replacing traditional materials on major platforms. Modelling approaches are reshaping maintenance planning and upgrade paths. Autonomous collaborative systems are being integrated across defence domains. The drive for higher-rate and low-cost manufacturing is transforming how defence supply chains are structured and delivered.
Every one of these shifts demands engineers who can work across disciplines - materials science, manufacturing engineering, modelling & structural analysis - and move between them with confidence.
We’re working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to address this through its early-career pathways which are designed to strengthen the link between academic learning and the applied, industry-grounded experience that makes engineers effective from day one.
Where applied learning happens
NCC’s contribution is bridging the gap between theory and practice. MoD graduates spend time embedded in our facility in Bristol working.
They join live programmes alongside NCC engineers. That means hands on experience with advanced manufacturing equipment. Interpreting process data in real-time. Understanding composite manufacturing technology. Learning how fibre placement, resin transfer moulding and autoclave processing differ - and when each one matters.
They work with digital engineering tools that connect design intent to manufacturing reality. They see how a digital thread runs from initial concept through simulation, process modelling and quality assurance to a finished component.
They encounter trade-offs. Performance against cost. Weight against manufacturability. Optimal design against what can be produced at rate, reliably, within tolerance and without compromising on quality. These aren’t classroom exercises. They’re the conversations happening around them every day across NCC’s facility.
What graduates take back to defence
Graduates return to the MoD with something specific. Not just confidence - though that matters - but a practical understanding of how their future roles connect to the industrial base that delivers defence capability.
They’ve seen how decisions made in procurement and design flow downstream into manufacturing. They’ve watched an engineering team solve a problem that didn’t exist six months ago, using a process that didn’t exist two years ago.
They’ve learned that real engineering is iterative, messy and collaborative - and that the ability to work across boundaries matters just as much as a deep specialism in any single discipline.
That perspective is not easy to teach. It has to be experienced.
Why this matters for UK defence readiness
NCC works across the defence ecosystem. We’ve supported programmes ranging from sovereign capability development to manufacturing innovation for next-generation platforms. We understand the skills the sector needs because we work at the point where emerging technologies meet production reality - where theory gets tested against realities such as manufacturing process constraints and programme deadlines.
Strengthening the UK’s engineering skills pipeline isn’t a side project. It’s fundamental to future defence readiness. The platforms being designed today will be in service for decades, and the engineers maintaining, upgrading and decommissioning them need to understand not just how they were built, but how they’ll be manufactured differently in the future.
Closing the gap
Achieving this requires strong partnerships between industry, universities and Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs), creating pathways that allow learners to move from classroom concepts to real-world application.
The UK’s defence advantage won’t be decided by procurement strategy alone. It’ll be decided by whether the next generation of engineers can work confidently with advanced materials, digital tools and advanced manufacturing technologies that are evolving faster than any curriculum can follow.
The impact is tangible, engineers who can contribute from day one, make better informed decisions, and accelerate the translation of innovation into deployable capability.
Giving them real exposure - real equipment, real constraints, real engineering problems - is how you close that gap. That’s the work NCC is doing. One graduate at a time.