Demand is strong and it keeps 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, according to the government's defence dividend announcement. That sits on top of an already large base: MOD expenditure with industry supported a total of 272,000 direct jobs in 2023/24, an 11% increase on the previous year, per the MOD's supported employment estimates for 2023/24.
The trend line has been climbing for a while. The total number of MOD-supported UK jobs reached 239,000 in 2022/23, up 6% on the previous year, according to the MOD's 2022/23 estimates, and surveyed recruitment across the sector grew by 17.8% in 2022, per the government's defence economic contribution report. When hiring grows this fast, the vetting pipeline that every cleared role depends on comes under real pressure. That pressure is what employers feel as a backlog.
Cyber and technical roles are the tightest part of the market, and clearance makes them tighter still. There are approximately 143,000 individuals in the UK cyber security workforce, with growth moderately accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024, according to the government's cyber security skills report for 2025. Growth is real, but it is not keeping pace with need.
The shortage bites hardest at the point of hire. A comparison with earlier data showed 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy, according to the government's AI Labour Market Survey 2025. In defence, add the clearance requirement on top of that scarcity and you get long lead times: the person may be available, but the security check that lets them start is not. That gap between offer and start date is where backlogs slow everything down.
Start by treating clearance as part of the hiring timeline, not an afterthought. Map how long each level of vetting typically takes for your roles, then plan your pipeline backwards from the date you need someone in post. If a role needs a start date in six months, the search cannot start in month five.
Build a pool of people who already hold current clearance so you can move quickly when a role opens. Where a role truly needs a new clearance, be honest and specific with applicants about the wait, and keep them warm with clear updates so you do not lose them to a faster offer. Write job adverts that separate what is genuinely essential from what is nice to have: over-specifying clearance levels shrinks an already small pool. And where the work allows, consider sponsoring clearance for a strong candidate rather than holding out for a perfect cleared match who may not exist.
The employers who win in 2026 are the ones who compress every part of the process they can control. You cannot speed up national vetting, but you can shorten sourcing, screening and interview scheduling so that the clearance clock is the only clock still running.
This is where we help. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people who match your defence or security role, including those who already hold relevant clearance, so your shortlist reflects who can realistically start soonest. We handle recruitment end to end, from sourcing to interview booking, so your team can focus on assessment and vetting rather than admin. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If clearance backlogs are slowing your hiring, start a role with Reed.ai today and let us build the shortlist while the clock is ticking.
