Hundreds of highly skilled defence and engineering jobs are coming to Dorset. Now a new £2.6 million training centre at Dorset Innovation Park aims to ensure local young people have the skills to fill them.
Young people in Dorset will soon be able to train for highly skilled defence and engineering careers without leaving the county, as Yeovil College prepares to establish a new base at Dorset Innovation Park near Winfrith.
The £2.6 million investment comes as companies at the park and across Dorset prepare for significant growth – and face the problem of finding enough skilled people to fill the jobs being created.
Kevin Forshaw, chief executive of the Dorset Innovation Hub, is upbeat: ‘There are several major development projects starting next year, and with the projects onsite here we will be creating 250 jobs by 2029. I have been working with the major defence companies in the wider county, including those at Weymouth and Portland. They are all experiencing growth. We have a lot of new, highly skilled positions being created over the next few years, but an insufficiently skilled workforce coming through the local system.’
Dorset’s £437m defence cluster
The government established the Defence Technical Excellence College (D-TEC) programme in 2025, as part of a £182 million investment in defence skills. Five colleges across England were subsequently selected to become specialist hubs for technical training in defence, advanced manufacturing and engineering – with Yeovil College one of those awarded D-TEC status.
The five colleges form the core of the D-TEC consortium supported by the £182 million national programme. Yeovil College now plans to invest £2.6 million at Dorset Innovation Park, bringing specialist defence and engineering training directly into the county.
Separately, Bournemouth University is building a laboratory at the Innovation Park in the BattleLab facility with another £500k investment.
‘It will also provide the technology for existing employees to upskill,’ says Kevin. ‘Our largest employer on site has 750 employees here – the idea is they can walk across to our facility to do a short course on the new technology.’
Just within Dorset, the defence cluster already contributes £437 million to the economy each year, and supports more than 8,000 related jobs. The new Bournemouth University Security Operations Centre of the Future (SOCoF) Lab is just one example, supported by a £2.3 million investment from the Office for Students. It’s a cutting edge facility to be used by students and industry practitioners to simulate cyber attacks and how they respond to the attacks.
Kevin says that some of the most acute skills shortages are in STEM subjects, particularly software, mechanical and electrical engineering. Several local schools have already visited the Innovation Park, where pupils flew drones and tried some of the technology being developed there. There’s an outreach programme and Kevin is keen to ensure young people are aware of the opportunities literally on their doorstep.
‘We all know Dorset is a lovely place to live,’ he says. ‘But if you are a young person it’s also a very expensive place to live. Having a well-paid job is crucial.
‘What we’re trying to do is increase awareness. It’s about saying there are well-paid jobs in defence, and getting kids to think about the courses they will be taking. For local schoolchildren – if they study hard in the right subjects – these jobs are available.
‘Not everyone buys into the defence sector, but most people are signed up to the defence of the UK, and a lot of our local companies are ensuring our country’s security. We’re in an interesting situation at the moment where we’re not at war, but as the German Chancellor said last year, we’re not “at peace” either.’
Keeping young people in Dorset
Alex Clancy, assistant principal for employer engagement at Yeovil College, says demand is already growing: ‘Over the past five years, defence and advanced manufacturing apprenticeships have grown from 120 to more than 450,’ he says. ‘Through Yeovil College and the Wessex Defence Technical Excellence College, our ambition is to build on that growth and support around 700 apprentices in the sector in the coming years. That needs to happen alongside industry, and Dorset Innovation Park presents a huge opportunity to do exactly that.’
Local defence companies are also being brought into the project to help shape the training offered: ‘There will be a range of T level courses and apprenticeships here,’ Kevin says. ‘Bournemouth University is majoring on cybersecurity, so the opportunity to do higher degree apprenticeships is available. The student is placed in the company and does their learning modules alongside.’
It’s an issue supported by South Dorset MP, Lloyd Hatton, who told Dorset Life: ‘My goal is to ensure that many more young people have a range of opportunities without needing to leave the county to complete an apprenticeship. I’m determined to stop talented young people from feeling they must move away to build a successful career.’
‘Bournemouth University is very good,’ says Kevin. ‘But having a campus here will open up opportunities in the west of the county. Because travel is a challenge – even people from Weymouth find it hard to get here – it’s something we really have to look at.
‘In the 1950s, when the Park was opened as the Atomic Energy Design and Testing Centre, we had our own railway siding!
‘We have to think about how we can get students from rural areas and from Weymouth to the Park via minibus.
‘We’re equipping them with skills so they won’t have to move away to find a job.’
