Skills and recruitment shortages pose biggest threat to South Central Space sector
The biggest hurdle for the Space sector in South Central England, a £3 billion industry, is the current shortage in both skills and recruitment.
The Space Sector Skills Survey 2023, commissioned by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), revealed that 52 per cent of organisations reported skills gaps in their current workforce.
Alongside this roles within software development and data and systems engineering have the most vacancies, together making up half of all vacancies.
It was also reported that electronics, systems engineering, and spacecraft operations roles are the most difficult to recruit for.
Director of the Space South Central Enterprise Network, Dr Louise Butt, said: “Hampshire, Surrey and the Isle of Wight have a stellar 50-year heritage of space innovation and expertise, and the range of specialisms here is unrivalled anywhere in the UK.
“However, tackling skills gaps and attracting the right employees is a top priority if we are to future-proof further economic and job growth.
“Our mission is to ensure that our region stays at the forefront of the UK space industry, and a huge part of that is supporting the developing of training opportunities and helping employers of all sizes attract and retain the staff they need.”
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While the competition for candidates from other space companies has remained largely constant since the 2020 Space Sector Skills survey, competition with other sectors has increased significantly, particularly engineering (39 per cent) and tech/IT (20 per cent).
Space South Central is working with employers and education providers to develop new strategies to address space sector skills gaps and build on existing training opportunities in the region.
Its own skills survey found that the region has a ‘very strong’ provision of further and higher education courses related to sought-after skills such as software development, data science, and cyber security.
Roy Howarth, Chairman of the Space Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group said: “With the development of vocational routes into the space industry such as the Space Technologies Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) and Space Engineering Technician and Space Systems Engineer apprenticeships the space industry now has the possibility to feed the pipeline of talent for the future at all levels.
“Industry and further and higher education need to work together to get these pathways more clearly signposted and utilised so that we attract higher volumes of early careers entrants into the sector."
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