Specialist technology skills enable defence to deliver programmes and exploit the power of its data assets. By building a workforce with the right skills and experience and investing in its development, value can be delivered faster, alongside improvements to core services and responsiveness to operational requirements [1].
However, digital skills shortages continue to be an issue in defence [2] reflecting a persistent problem in wider government [3]. Reasons for this include uncompetitive pay, long hiring processes and bureaucracy [2, p. 32] which discourages technology professionals from taking up civil service positions.
As an example, cyber security functions face an acute shortage of skilled professionals: in 2023-2024, a third of cyber security roles in government were empty or filled by temporary staff. Specialist positions, such as security architects, were especially difficult to recruit for [4, p. 40]. Furthermore, departments lack the funding to develop cyber security skills [4, p. 24], likely increasing demand for temporary staff (which cost at least twice as much as permanent staff [4, p. 40]), and increasing pressures on existing roles.
Ultimately, these constraints impact the delivery of defence programmes. The MODNET Evolve project for instance intended to restructure its core IT services faced an Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) ‘red’ rating in 2022 due to shortages in technical expertise and reliance on contractors [2, p. 34], meaning successful delivery of the project appeared unachievable.
Reducing the digital skills shortage has therefore been a key aim in Defence, interventions include initiatives to train and develop technical skills within the MOD, through the Digital Skills for Defence programme [5, p. 20]. Greater use of remote and flexible working, reducing the security clearance waiting time and focusing “heavily on its brand and giving people access to interesting and innovative areas of work” [6, p. 12].
One area of focus is the Government Cyber Security Strategy (2022) which includes an objective to “Develop the right cyber security skills, knowledge and culture” [7, p. 11] by:
- Attracting and retaining cyber security professionals by adopting a single pay framework.
- Building the cyber security culture across the public sector by increasing cyber security awareness and knowledge.
- Gaining a comprehensive understanding of cyber security skills requirements and the promotion of cyber security career pathways.
Despite this the National Audit Office [4, p. 42] expects difficulty in addressing the skills shortage, assessing that the government cyber skills strategy (which itself is only partially funded) will only fill 53% of cyber security vacancies in 2030, suggesting that a greater emphasis is required by government and defence to address the digital skills shortage.
References
[1] Ministry of Defence, “Digital Strategy for Defence,” Defence Digital, 2021.
[2] National Audit Office, “The Digital Strategy for Defence: A review for early implementation,” 2022.
[3] National Audit Office, “The digital skills gap in government: Survey findings,” 2015.
[4] National Audit Office, “Government cyber resilience,” 2025.
[5] Ministry of Defence, “Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world,” 2023.
[6] Committee of Public Accounts, “The Defence Digital Strategy,” London, 2023.
[7] Cabinet Office, “Government Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2030,” 2022.
[8] National Audit Office, “The impact of government’s ICT savings initiatives,” 2013.
[9] Ministry of Defence, Fast-track armed forces recruitment launched to boost UK cyber defence, 2025.
[10] Government Security Centre for Cyber, “Government Cyber Security Academy Poster,” July 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.security.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GCSA-One-Pager.pdf. [Accessed 05 03 2025].
