Demand in UK defence is strong and growing. MOD expenditure with industry supported a total of 272,000 direct jobs in 2023/24, an increase of 11% compared to the previous financial year, according to MOD supported employment estimates for 2023/24. That builds on the year before, when the total number of MOD-supported UK jobs reached 239,000 in 2022/23, an increase of 6% on the previous financial year, as set out in MOD's 2022/23 estimates.
Recruitment activity is rising too. The defence sector continued to be an attractive employer, with surveyed recruitment growing by 17.8% in 2022, according to a GOV.UK analysis of the defence sector's economic contribution. Fresh investment is adding to the pipeline: more than 1,700 new jobs are being created across the UK defence sector following at least £1.4 billion in foreign direct investment committed since July 2024, as reported by GOV.UK on the defence investment dividend. For a firm hiring its first quality engineer, that means more work and more competition for the same skills.
A first quality engineer sits at the point where engineering rigour meets regulated delivery. They own inspection, documentation, supplier controls and the standards that defence contracts demand, often with no existing function to lean on. That makes the role specialist by nature, and specialist roles are exactly where employers feel the squeeze.
The wider engineering market shows the pressure. 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology's 2025 skills research. The pipeline for newer talent is tight as well: in Engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a 9-percentage-point gap, as set out in a GOV.UK snapshot of entry-level hiring. A first hire in this space has to carry real experience, because there is no team to train them up.
Start by writing down what this person will own in year one. Are they building a quality management system from scratch, preparing for an audit, or tightening supplier controls on a live contract? The answer shapes the seniority you need and the standards experience you screen for. Be specific about the frameworks in play, from AS9100 to your customer's own requirements, so applicants can show relevant work.
Clearance and specialism narrow the pool fast, so move quickly once you find the right person. A slow process loses the few candidates who fit, and in a market this competitive, that gap is costly in time and momentum.
We built Reed.ai to help defence-and-security firms find the right person for a role like this without a drawn-out search. We draw on a database of 15 million candidates to surface and rank people who match your scope, including the standards experience a first quality engineer needs. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us what this first role needs to own, and we will get a shortlist in front of you.
