CONNECTING THE DEFENCE COMMUNITY WITH INSIGHT, INTELLIGENCE & OPPORTUNITIES

Officially Supported By: Defence Contracts International Supply2Defence

Official Media Partners for:

Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin, has been spending time with Scottish SMEs to promote UK investment, innovation and support for Scottish industry.

Meeting employers and apprentices near Edinburgh, the Minister also met Scottish SMEs at the Defence Suppliers Forum, held at defence company Leonardo’s facility near Edinburgh. The Forum builds relationships between businesses and Government through face-to-face meetings and candid discussion.

With some £1.5Bn of MOD monies invested in Scottish businesses last year, the defence industry supports 9,700 jobs across Scotland. The Royal Navy’s construction of the new Queen Elizabeth Carriers is being carried out in Rosyth, while the new Offshore Patrol Vessels are under construction in Govan and Scotstoun.

Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said: “Scotland is on the front line defending the United Kingdom from growing threats on land, air, and sea; and the Government is listening to Scottish business and building skills to keep the UK safe, secure, and prosperous.

“This is yet more evidence of our unquestionable commitment to defence and industry in Scotland, as our rising defence budget and £178bn equipment plan supports Scottish business, jobs, and skills far into the future.”

Following the Forum, Mrs Baldwin recognised the winners of the Raytheon SME supply chain awards at the company’s Glenrothes plant, where it employs over 600 engineers and technicians. Amongst the winners, were North Lanarkshire company, Link Cable Assemblies, who received the Enabling Business Growth Award.

Apprenticeships were also a key element of the visit with Mrs Baldwin visiting 24 graduates and 24 apprentices on Raytheon’s programmes this year, as well as some of the Raytheon STEM Ambassadors, who visit schools to teach pupils about aerodynamics, autonomy, and control systems.

The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review committed to spending 25% of procurement money with SME suppliers by 2020. To achieve this an £800M innovation fund has been created to fund to encourage imagination, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. The goal is to work more effectively with businesses across the UK – and particularly with SMEs, which might not normally think of themselves as Defence suppliers.

The MOD has also launched a refreshed Supplier Portal and an improved Contracts platform linked to the Defence and Security Accelerator to assist SME development.

Image: © Crown Copyright Pictured are events from today’s Queen Elizabeth naming ceremony conducted at Rosyth Dockyard.

 

If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here

Apprentices Defence Suppliers Forum Harriett Baldwin MP Minister for Defence Procurement MOD Queen Elizabeth Carriers Raytheon Rosyth Scotland SMEs STEM

Post written by: Vicky Maggiani

Vicky has worked in media for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.


LATEST STAKEHOLDER

Become a Stakeholder today and benefit from an exclusive marketing package which will allow you to:

  • Engage with active defence buyers and key supply chain partners
  • Create your own branded micro-site which within Defence Online which is managed by you
  • Have a dedicated Digital Account Manager to help enhance your Stakeholder page
  • Promote your news, products, press releases, eBooks and Videos as a Defence Online partner which feeds through to our homepage and social media channels
  • Have your company promoted on our partner website Defence Contracts Online (DCO)
  • All news promoted in mynewsdesk, a major hub for all of our news articles which enables news to be picked up from trade magazines, national newspapers and many other publications which offers extra exposure at no additional cost!

Contact us today or call us on 0845 557 1315 to take advantage of this exclusive marketing package


.

RELATED ARTICLES

Britain’s heavy lift capability will be bolstered with the purchase of 14 extended-range Chinooks (CH47-ER), which will pump an estimated £151M into the UK economy.

March 26, 2024

Air - New Chinook contract confirmed

Britain’s heavy lift capability will be bolstered with the purchase of 14 extended-range Chinooks (CH47-ER), which will pump an estimated

NATO's DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) programme is expanding its network with new sites.

March 25, 2024

Homeland - NATO accelerator and two test centres to be established in Finland

NATO’s DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) programme is expanding its network with new sites. Finland is now