EU to Retrain 600,000 Workers by 2030 to Shore Up its Defence Industry

Faced with a growing shortage of skilled labour, the European Commission plans to retrain or reskill 600,000 people across the EU for defence-industry jobs by 2030, according to a new roadmap published this week.

The push comes as demand for European-made defence equipment surges — driven by rising geopolitical tensions and a decision by EU member states to ramp up military procurement after years of underinvestment.

Under the new plan, the Commission will launch a “Talent Platform” offering traineeships with small and medium-sized defence firms, start-ups and scale-ups. It will also roll out a Skills Guarantee pilot aimed at helping workers from shrinking industries — such as automotive or related supply chains — transition into defence jobs.

Officials say the labour shortage is a “major bottleneck” threatening Europe’s ability to produce the volume and sophistication of military equipment it now requires. The skills gap spans traditional roles — like manufacturing, welding or metalwork — and high-tech profiles needed for emerging defence technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, and quantum systems.

To address longer-term needs, the roadmap includes the creation of a dedicated EU Defence Industry Skills Academy, expected to launch after 2028. Meanwhile, existing EU-level training institutions — including space and digital skills academies — will be tasked with expanding defence-related courses in the short term.

Support structures are also being strengthened: under recent agreements to reform the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), EU countries can now access additional funding to support training and skills development in strategic sectors — including defence.

According to the Commission, the reskilling plan aims to upskill around 12 % of the existing defence and aerospace workforce each year — a rate seen as essential given the ambition to expand production significantly by the end of the decade.

As the European defence sector races to meet increasing demands, this bold push for workforce training and reskilling marks a strategic pivot — from procurement-focused expansion to building home-grown technical capacity and sustainable talent pipelines.

Read More on Euronews : EU aims to retrain 600,000 workers for defence sector to eliminate skills shortage | Euronews