Name: EU aims to retrain 600,000 workers for defense sector
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T16:47:29.373Z
Duration: 1 min 7 s
Description: Europe is trying to rearm fast. The problem? There are too few qualified people to design or produce the volume of materiel needed for a sufficient European defense strategy.

Europe is trying to rearm fast. The problem? There are too few qualified people to design or produce the volume of materiel needed for a sufficient European defense strategy.

The European Commission has announced a plan to upskill or reskill 600,000 workers for the defense sector by 2030 as part of its broader defense industry transformation roadmap. This initiative is intended to address the shortage of qualified personnel needed to design, produce, and integrate advanced defense technologies, including AI and quantum systems.

According to European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius, the measures aim to upskill around 12% of the existing defense and aerospace workforce each year. In 2023, the EU defense industry supported approximately 581,000 jobs and generated a turnover of 158.8 billion euros.

EU aims to retrain 600,000 workers for defense sector

Europe is trying to rearm fast, but is lacking qualified people to design or produce the volume of material needed. To meet this challenge, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed an upskilling plan as part of its defence industry transformation roadmap. The EU says it wants 600,000 people to be upskilled or reskilled for the defence industry by 2030. Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Defence, told Euronews that the measures aimed to upskill around 12% of the existing defence and aerospace workforce each year. This shortage is a problem for both the supply side, where disruptive technologies such as AI and quantum are being developed for defence applications, and the demand side, where armed forces and procurement bodies need expertise to quickly acquire and integrate these new systems. In 2023, the EU defence industry generated around 581,000 jobs and a turnover of 158.8 billion euros.

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