Bristol’s defence apprentices were recognised during National Apprenticeship Week as Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard visited Babcock to meet trainees in specialist trades. The visit coincides with the final call for colleges in England to apply to become one of five Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, with applications closing at 23:59 on Monday 16 February 2026; the Ministry of Defence reports the sector supported about 25,000 apprenticeship roles in 2025 following 4 per cent growth. (gov.uk)
Babcock says it has created around 1,600 apprentice and graduate roles across 2025/26, after recruiting 500 apprentices and 250 graduates in 2025, with a larger intake planned for 2026. Current adverts include Level 4 engineering technician apprenticeships in Bristol starting in September 2026. (babcockinternational.com)
Defence Technical Excellence Colleges are the defence strand of the Department for Education’s Technical Excellence Colleges programme, which will establish 19 TECs from April 2026 across Defence, Clean Energy, Digital and Technologies, and Advanced Manufacturing. Eligibility is limited to statutory further education colleges in England; applicants must be Ofsted ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, hold a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ 2023/24 financial health grade (or expect to do so in 2024/25), and meet minimum achievement‑rate thresholds. (gov.uk)
Applications are submitted through the DfE online portal. Bidders must set out delivery against five programme objectives, evidence employer partnerships and a hub‑and‑spoke model, and provide up to six written endorsements from sector partners. Outcomes are due in spring 2026, with TECs launching from April and costed delivery plans required over summer 2026. (gov.uk)
Funding is drawn from the £182 million defence skills package under the Defence Industrial Strategy. Within this, around £50 million is allocated to create five DTECs, alongside an £80 million competition for universities and colleges to expand places and improve facilities on defence‑relevant courses; the wider package also includes targeted short courses, a clearing‑style system for apprenticeships and graduates from 2026, and exploratory work on a Defence Skills Passport. (gov.uk)
The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, with over 25,400 apprentices across roughly 170 programmes. In the Department for Education’s 2025 Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, the Royal Air Force ranked 13th, the British Army 19th and the Royal Navy 58th; BAE Systems placed second and Babcock 29th. (gov.uk)
Alongside the skills push, ministers are seeking to broaden SME participation in defence supply chains. The government has committed to spend an additional £2.5 billion with small and medium‑sized enterprises by May 2028, taking total SME spend to £7.5 billion, and has created a Defence Office for Small Business Growth and an Office for Defence Exports to support market entry and scaling. (gov.uk)
For potential DTEC bidders, two operational points stand out. Alignment must be demonstrated with one of the Industrial Strategy’s priority city‑region clusters for defence, though a college can be located outside a cluster if it can evidence relevance. And once appointed, TECs are expected to act as system leaders, working with employers and partner providers to spread specialist practice via a formal hub‑and‑spoke model. (gov.uk)
With bids due at 23:59 on Monday 16 February 2026, providers have limited time for final checks and confirmatory evidence before decisions in spring and mobilisation from April. (gov.uk)