Meeting of the Parliament 27 April 2023
As has been mentioned in contributions from other members, Scotland’s space sector continues to grow and contributes significantly to our economy. The space industry is a rapidly growing field, and Scotland has the potential to be at the forefront of that exciting sector. The war in Ukraine is affecting satellite launch capability around the world and there is a renewed need to develop that technology here, at home, and to fully harness that expanding market.
Scotland is home to more than 140 space organisations, including significant players such as Spire Global, AAC Clyde Space and the universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The industry generates around £5.6 billion in turnover and provides 22,000 jobs and 910 apprenticeships across the country, adding £2.3 billion to the Scottish economy.
That is why the recent partnership between Spirit Aerosystems and Astraius to improve future satellite launch capability at Prestwick spaceport is fantastic news not only for Ayrshire but for Scotland and the United Kingdom. That collaboration is part of the UK’s plan to secure a larger share of the global space economy, which is expected to be worth £490 billion by 2030, as Richard Lochhead said earlier.
The Prestwick spaceport aims to become Europe’s premier location for launching small satellites into orbit via air launch, and the collaboration between Spirit and Astraius will speed up the development of system components and key processes for the Astraius horizontal launch platform. It has the potential to drive growth in the science and engineering supply chains, create new jobs and career paths and inspire the next generation of space professionals across the UK.
The recent announcement by Mangata Networks, which plans to establish a new space engineering, manufacturing and operations hub in Prestwick as part of the Ayrshire growth deal, demonstrates Scotland’s welcoming environment for investors. It will create up to 575 new jobs over the coming years, making the Prestwick airport hub a significant economic driver for Ayrshire. We must make sure that Scotland has an attractive economy so that we can best capitalise on this booming industry.
Scotland’s geographic location and robust aerospace manufacturing sector make it an ideal location for polar rocket and satellite launches. However, the availability of talent is crucial to Scotland’s space industry’s success, as several members mentioned in their contributions. The same engineering pool is stretched across a variety of engineering sectors, including aerospace and military, meaning that employers are in stiff competition with each other. As one industry expert told me,
“The success of Scotland’s space sector is predicated on one thing—people. Whether Research & Development, supply chain opportunities, whatever, it is all built upon our supply of skills. As the space sector has fantastic growth, so too do other engineering sectors such as aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing and so on, they all draw from the same engineering talent pool, and that pool is already running close to dry.”
As the demand for skilled workers continues to rise, it will be increasingly important for Governments, the industry and educational institutions to collaborate on adapting and improving training programmes. Such co-ordinated thinking will enable us to identify the skills and knowledge that are most in demand and ensure that training programmes are designed to meet those needs.