Written evidence submitted by Fragomen LLP (SSF0015)

 

WRITTEN SUBMISSION: SECURING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE: DEFENCE SKILLS AND JOBS

(Mobility & Workforce Perspective)

~ 1600 words

Fragomen is the world’s largest firm focused exclusively on immigration, global mobility and workforce strategy. We advise leading UK and Scottish organisations across the defence, aerospace, space, energy, subsea, advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. We are submitting evidence because workforce mobility and immigration policy are now central to the delivery of defence capability, supply-chain resilience and regional economic benefit in Scotland, and because recent UK immigration reforms have fundamentally changed the talent landscape for defence-relevant roles.

 

1. How Scotland Can Benefit From Increased UK Defence Spending

From a mobility and workforce perspective, Scotland stands to gain significantly from increased defence spending, but only if the workforce barriers that limit delivery are addressed in parallel.

Scotland’s defence and dual-use sectors operate in a tight labour market, with shortages in engineering, systems design, cyber, advanced manufacturing, underwater operations and technical roles. Defence investment creates opportunity, but without access to the right talent at the right time, programmes stall, supply chains weaken and economic benefits are unevenly distributed.

 

Ensuring economic benefits are shared throughout Scotland

Scotland’s defence, aerospace, subsea and space industries are geographically dispersed across Moray, Fife, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Prestwick, Ayrshire, Shetland, Orkney and the Highlands. Many of these areas have lower average salaries than the UK national level. Current immigration salary thresholds – for example £54,900 for IT systems designers (SOC 2133), £52,300 for IT professionals (2139), and £52,400 for aerospace engineers (2126) – are far above typical Scottish pay levels. This restricts access to global talent for employers outside major urban centres.

 

To ensure benefits are shared, immigration policy must allow rural and island employers to recruit specialist personnel at realistic salary levels. Without this, increased defence spending risks concentrating growth in a small number of high-pay urban centres.

 

Rural projects demonstrating the potential for dispersed benefit

Projects in Shetland (SaxaVord), Sutherland, Moray and the Highlands show that defence-aligned investment can anchor high-value supply chains in rural areas. However, these projects rely on specialist talent that is not locally available. Immigration barriers to technical and mission-critical roles limit the ability of rural communities to benefit fully from defence spending.

 

Creating highly skilled and highly paid jobs

Increased investment will create high-quality roles in spacecraft integration, systems engineering, cyber, subsea robotics, radar, data processing and autonomy. But many of these roles have been excluded or restricted by recent immigration reforms, including the rise of the Skilled Worker threshold to £41,700 and the requirement that roles be degree-level (RQF6) for sponsorship. As a result, many skilled technical roles essential to defence projects – such as engineering technicians, science technicians, metal workers and project support staff – can no longer be sponsored because they either don’t meet skill level or salary, or both. This limits the creation of high-value employment in areas where domestic supply is insufficient.

 

Mobility recommendation:
A dedicated Defence and National Security Skills Route that allows sponsorship of defence-critical technical roles below RQF6 in key Scottish locations.

 

2. What Are the Key Skills Gaps in Scotland’s Defence Sector?

Current and emerging gaps

Across defence, aerospace, subsea, space and energy – all of which overlap significantly in Scotland – the core gaps include:

 

Mobility-related barriers to attracting and retaining talent

A. Salary thresholds misaligned with Scottish market conditions

Scotland’s engineering and digital salaries are materially lower than national averages. Mandatory salary thresholds of £52–55k for many roles exceed what early-career and rural employers can pay. This disadvantages Scottish SMEs, primes based in rural areas, and supply-chain companies operating on fixed-price contracts.

 

B. High visa costs limit access to global talent

A typical 3-year visa now costs around £9,000 in government fees upfront per worker. A worker with a partner and two children faces £20,000+ in immigration fees, excluding legal costs. These costs are up to 17 times higher than competitor nations and disproportionately affect Scottish SMEs and rural contractors with tighter margins.

 

C. Restriction of non-RQF6 roles

The July 2025 reforms removed sponsorship eligibility for many critical defence-relevant occupations, including metal workers, science and engineering technicians and project support officers. These roles are fundamental to submarine programmes, underwater infrastructure, aerospace integration, radar, test and evaluation, and energy-defence crossover projects. Their sudden exclusion widens gaps and limits the ability of Scottish firms to scale.

 

D. Lack of a short-term specialist route

Many defence and subsea roles require 2–12 week deployments for mission-specific tasks (e.g., propulsion testing, radar calibration, range safety, underwater cable repair). The UK has no agile visa option for short-term technical deployments. Delays of even 10 days can stall programmes, causing cost overruns and contractual penalties.

 

How these gaps inhibit benefits of increased investment

 

Role of the UK Government

 

Role of defence innovation and collaboration clusters

Clusters in Glasgow, Dundee, Prestwick, Aberdeen and Shetland can pool talent across sectors (defence, space, energy, subsea). However, cluster effectiveness depends on predictable mobility routes and the ability of SMEs to recruit internationally at realistic cost.

 

Collaboration with energy and advanced manufacturing

Subsea, offshore energy and space technologies share major overlaps with defence needs: robotics, composites, cable infrastructure, mission systems, cyber and autonomy. Cross-sector mobility allows skills to flow between industries; but only if immigration policy supports technicians and engineers whose roles straddle sectors.

 

 

 

 

Impact of cross-sector competition

Energy, subsea, space and defence are competing for the same engineering labour pool. Immigration restrictions shrink the available pool further, driving wage inflation and slowing delivery across all sectors simultaneously.

 

Potential benefits and limitations of a Defence Skills Passport

A Defence Skills Passport would support cross-sector movement and recognition of training. However, its impact is limited without complementary mobility reform. It cannot substitute for immigration access to non-UK talent.

 

3. Role of Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal and Defence Industrial Strategy

Creating and sustaining high-quality jobs

Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal can play a pivotal role in anchoring aerospace, radar, underwater systems, missile, cyber and space capabilities. But the Deal’s potential will only be realised if the labour pool expands. Without mobility reform, increased funding risks expanding infrastructure without expanding capability.

 

Benefits for local economies

The Growth Deal is particularly important for rural areas such as Moray, the Highlands and Shetland. To ensure local benefit:

 

Retaining digital and cyber talent

Digital and cyber roles often fall below current salary thresholds, particularly in Scotland. Skilled Worker eligibility for SOC 2133 and 2139 at £52–55k limits recruitment capacity in a core area of defence need. These thresholds are also significantly higher than Ireland, Germany, Canada and Australia, which continue to attract Scottish talent.

 

4. Integration of Scottish Suppliers Into Defence Supply Chains

 

Mobility barriers

 

Effectiveness of MOD and industry engagement

Engagement mechanisms often overlook immigration dependency. MOD procurement timelines do not account for visa lead-times or the impact of RQF6 restrictions, resulting in delays within the supply chain.

 

Barriers for SMEs in rural communities

 

Supporting SMEs to create and retain high-quality jobs

 

Cross-Sector Insight: Defence, Subsea and Energy

Underwater infrastructure has become strategically critical to UK energy security and naval resilience. Subsea firms are increasingly dual-use and defence-relevant. However, the July 2025 immigration reforms restrict many subsea technical roles, including those vital for underwater infrastructure protection, cable laying, and naval operations.

Mobility challenges are acute because subsea workforces are:

 

A mobility framework that excludes key subsea technicians undermines both defence readiness and the UK’s energy transition.

 

Recommendation:

A Cross-Sector Mobility Framework that connects energy, subsea, defence and space, with:

 

Conclusion

Scotland’s defence sector has enormous potential, but its ability to benefit from increased UK defence spending depends on the mobility system that underpins its workforce.

 

Without targeted immigration reform, Scotland risks:

 

With the right mobility framework (including a Defence & National Infrastructure Skills Route, regional salary flexibility, restoration of technical roles to sponsorship eligibility, and a short-term Mission Visa), Scotland can deliver a resilient, high-skill, future-ready defence workforce.

 

Fragomen remains committed to supporting the Committee’s work and would welcome the opportunity to provide oral evidence or further detail.

 

Fri 12th December 2025

 

 

January 2026

 Sensitivity: Confidential