MTA and Mission Community launch a veterans’ career guide to strengthen UK manufacturing and sovereign capability

MISSION COMMUNITY and the MTA have launched a new industry guide to help bring additional talent into a workforce that is upskilling and expanding in response to increasing demand for local, sustainable supply chains.

Mission Manufacturing continues the nationwide success of the ‘Mission Automotive’ and ‘Mission Renewable’ engagement programmes that have seen hundreds of veterans, Service leavers and their family members embark on careers in these sectors. The new guidance will shine a spotlight on the manufacturing industry, providing advice on everything from the different technologies and sectors the industry serves to how veterans’ diverse skill sets relate to roles in the industry.

"The MTA is committed to uplifting the Armed Forces Community in our industry and dismantling the roadblocks that can prevent veterans from flourishing in the civilian workplace despite their experience and unmatched transferable skills," said James Selka, CEO of the Manufacturing Technologies Association. 

"We are proud of our ongoing work with Mission Community, which has enabled our organisation to advocate for the wider Armed Forces Community responsibly and far more effectively and give us the tools to start other members of the manufacturing industry on the same path.

"Our industry continues to endure a shortage of skills, and ‘Mission Manufacturing’ is an excellent win-win way to help address this."

Manufacturing and advanced engineering employ 2.6 million people nationwide, with salaries on average 10% higher than the economy as a whole. However, there are still an estimated 58,000 vacancies in the sector where ex-Armed Forces personnel could fully utilise their skills and continue the values of Service by supporting the UK's ability to design, develop and sustain critical technologies independently.

The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published by the Department for Business and Trade in 2025, highlighted the ambition to create ‘world-leading UK capability (through) forging a new partnership with industry, workers, and our Armed Forces’. ‘Mission Manufacturing’ is a result of such collaboration and aims to transform how the British industry and the Armed Forces communicate: promoting positive growth and enabling both to succeed together.

"The release of the ‘Mission Manufacturing’ industry guide is another key milestone in the Veterans’ Industry Engagement Programme, which Mission Community delivers on behalf of the Office of Veterans’ Affairs," stated James Cameron, founder and CEO of Mission Community.

"Through creating these pathways, we are helping employers to adopt veteran-friendly practices which, in turn, enable organisations to benefit from the talent and expertise of individuals they would otherwise struggle to connect with."

www.mta.org.uk/mission-manufacturing/