Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2026 [Draft]
The strategic importance of the aerospace, defence and space industries to Scotland cannot be overstated, as they add £3.7 billion to the economy and currently employ just under 37,000 people. I welcome the fact that many Scottish colleges and universities are developing active partnerships with the sectors, a great example of which is the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, which is hosted by the University of Strathclyde. I also note today’s announcement of the Scottish defence growth deal and the skills aspect within that.
However, a significant roadblock that is impeding future growth and prospects is the chronic skills shortage, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Does the minister agree that, in order to address that challenge, we must see in the next parliamentary session an expansion in the scale of engineering skills provision, stronger industry collaboration and the expansion of models such as the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland to secure our future skills needs in such vital sectors?