Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of (a) skills and (b) workforces in the industrial space sector.

In the 2021 to 2022 school year, the UK Space Agency’s funding delivered over 1.5M interactions between young people and space sector professionals, and the Space Placements in Industry programme has seen over 400 university students undertake placements with space employers, with 60% progressing into space careers.

We will invest up to £15 million in the UK Space Agency’s Inspiration programme over this spending period to address the skills gap and inspire the next generation. This funding will improve access to the skilled people that the sector needs, signpost the accessibility of space careers to professionals in other sectors, and ensure that professionals can access relevant training. The space sector continues to benefit from broader STEM careers support delivered by UK Research & Innovation.