Key facts
- Defence Secretary Wes Streeting delayed a plan to create youth jobs in the defence sector.
- Unions reportedly accused the government of bypassing them and minimizing their role in job creation.
- The plan aimed to increase apprenticeships in the defence sector to at least 14,000 annually by 2035.
- Streeting is expected to visit Telford to unveil a new gun production facility.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has postponed the announcement of a plan aimed at increasing youth employment in the defence industry due to opposition from trade unions. The proposals were scheduled for release on Thursday but faced criticism from unions who felt their roles in job creation were being minimized and that they were not adequately consulted.
The delay impacts a series of government announcements intended to address the youth jobs crisis. Streeting is still expected to visit Telford to inaugurate a new gun production facility operated by German defence firm Rheinmetall. The original plan aimed to support at least 14,000 annual apprenticeships in the defence sector by 2035.
Sources indicated that unions were shown the plan shortly before its intended publication and expressed their non-support, leading to the eleventh-hour postponement. While the Ministry of Defence confirmed the delay, it attributed it to "issues that still had to be worked through" and expressed confidence in publishing the plan "in due course."