How many welders does it take to build a nuclear sub? 5,000 more than UK has

A shortfall of thousands of welders puts the Government’s defence plans at risk, industry insiders have warned.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) includes a commitment to build up to 12 new attack submarines, six new munitions factories and 7,000 domestically built long-range weapons.

But post-Brexit immigration rules and a lack of investment in skills training have contributed to a shortfall in the number of skilled welders the UK needs to meet those pledges, according to industry sources.

Andrew Kinniburgh, director general of defence manufacturers’ lobby group Make UK Defence, said there are an estimated 5,000 welding vacancies in the defence industry. There are another 5,000 welder vacancies in non-military roles in the civil nuclear industry, he said.

He told The i Paper bui