Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to reduce skills shortages in the UK space industry.

Reducing skills shortages for science and technology-based sectors, such as space, is a priority across Government, as set out in the 2023 Science and Technology Framework.

The 2021 National Space Strategy commits to ‘upskilling and inspiring the space workforce’. In September 2023, DSIT and the UK Space Agency published the findings of the 2023 Space Sector Skills Survey, which highlights that nearly 95% of the organisations surveyed experience skills-related challenges.

Government has committed to publishing a Space Workforce Action Plan in 2024, co-developed with industry and academia. The UK Space Agency will also invest over £4m in the next two years towards training to continue upskilling the sector’s workforce, as well as over £6m on inspiring the next generation of space scientists and engineers through educational and outreach activity.