The UK defence sector is growing, and that growth is pulling hard on the labour market. 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 the 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 the MOD supported employment estimates for 2022/23.
Momentum is still building. 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 a GOV.UK announcement on the defence dividend. And the sector is attracting people: the defence sector continued to be an attractive employer, with surveyed recruitment growing by 17.8% in 2022 GOV.UK figures on the defence sector's economic contribution.
For a small or medium defence business, this is the backdrop that makes hiring harder. More investment and more jobs mean more competition for the same technical people, at the exact moment open architecture is changing which skills matter most.
Open architecture is a simple idea with big consequences: build to shared, published standards so modules from different suppliers can plug together. That shifts demand away from people who know one closed platform inside out, and towards people who can integrate, adapt and secure many systems at once.
The roles that carry that work are already stretched. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of 193,000 workers, are among the occupations in critical demand, with three out of five indicators in critical demand in 2025 the Occupations in demand 2025 statistics on GOV.UK. Those are precisely the people open architecture depends on.
So the hiring brief is changing. Instead of one deep specialism, defence SMEs increasingly want systems integrators, software engineers, cyber and security specialists, and architects who understand interfaces and standards. The common thread is adaptability: the ability to connect components, work across suppliers, and keep everything secure and compliant as the design evolves.
Start with the system, not the job title. Write the role around the outcomes you need, the interfaces someone will own and the standards they will work to, rather than a single product or platform. That widens your pool to adjacent sectors, where engineers may already have the integration and software skills you need.
Be realistic about the competition. With MOD-supported jobs at 272,000 in 2023/24 the MOD supported employment estimates for 2023/24, strong technical people have options. Move quickly, keep the process short, and be clear about security clearance requirements up front so no one is surprised late on.
Finally, build for the long term. Open architecture rewards teams that can keep learning as standards change, so hire people who show they can pick up new tools and work across boundaries, then give them room to grow.
This is where we fit. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people with the integration, software and systems skills open architecture demands, and we rank a shortlist in seconds so you can act while strong people are still available. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai what your next role needs today, and see your shortlist.
