Demand. It's ramping up.
Vacancy demand in the Defence & Security sector is now at it’s highest since February 2024.
Read on to find out why.
Demand. It's ramping up.
Vacancy demand in the Defence & Security sector is now at it’s highest since February 2024.
Read on to find out why.
Top 30 UK Defence organisations advertised vacancy demand.
Demand in the UK Defence & Security sector is ramping up.
Since the peak in demand for skills in the UK Defence & Security sector in October 2022, vacancy levels have steadily declined, stabilising over the past 12 months and reaching their lowest point in May 2025.
Clarity from the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and, more recently, the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) has supported confidence and funding for hiring to increase.
Demand remained steady from May 2025 to September 2025 but then we’ve seen a huge 31% increase in advertised vacancy demand in October. This is the biggest single jump in demand since September 2022.
Yes, it’s true that September to October often brings a bigger increase with many organisations releasing early careers opportunities for the following year, but a 31% increase is way more than normal and eclipses the increase seen over the same period in 2024 which was just 5%
September to October 2025 Advertised vacancy demand increase
Key Takeaways.
Expect a more competitive hiring landscape
The market isn’t going crazy for new hires just yet but with increased funding and export deals being signed, the data supports our feel that demand is picking up. The increased competition tied with the ongoing skills shortages will create more challenges to secure the best talent who are increasingly likely to have multiple lines of opportunity compared with the last 18 months.
Right Now will probably be the best time to hire
We expect demand to continue increasing for many months, so although there is already a flood of new opportunities for candidates, it’s likely there will be even more choice in the months to come. Securing great talent sooner rather than later may help avoid the talent rush.
Attrition levels likely to increase
For 18 months the opportunities for candidates have been less and choice has been limited when considering a great new employer. As a result, many people have sat tight, leading to lower-than-normal attrition rates.
UK Defence Sector Attrition Rates:
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
The correlation between an increase in opportunities and the +1.3% increased attrition across the sector, is interesting. With expected increasing demand, now is absolutely the time to be doubling down on people retention strategies.
