Senior leaders from industry, education and policy came together at the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce’s latest Defence and Security Working Group to explore the key challenges and opportunities shaping the sector, with a particular focus on skills, procurement reform, and the evolving strategic defence landscape.
Hosted in partnership with Ultra I&C and Green Park, Reading, the group brought together over 40 delegates to explore how this sector can convene to tackle issues in a constructive, strategic way.
Sharing an update on current and emerging skills needed from across the Defence and Security sector, Jonathan Adams, Activate Learning, explored how further education, higher education and universities are working with industry to strengthen the talent pipeline. He said:
The Defence and Security sector is evolving rapidly, and ensuring we have the right skills pipeline in place is critical. What came through strongly from the discussion is the importance of closer collaboration between industry and education, so that training provision reflects real operational need and supports long-term regional growth.
Catherine Convery, Explosive Learning Solutions, examined the implications of the new Procurement Act for the Defence and Security sector. As well as giving insightful updates on the creation of the new Defence Exports Office and Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, and what these developments could mean for industry. She said:
The new Procurement Act is not just a legal reform – it is an economic and security instrument. Its success will depend less on what the Act permits, and more on how confidently both suppliers and contracting authorities uses it.
An insightful roundtable discussion followed with interesting conversation around issues including delays to the Defence Investment Plan, business confidence, workforce planning, and where the sector is currently seeing growth and demand.
The session concluded with a forward-looking discussion on next steps, identifying key priorities for how the Chamber can best support the Defence and Security sector in the region, the messages it should be amplifying to Government, and the topics members would like future Working Group meetings to address.
Looking ahead, the next Working Group meetings are on:
