Europe's Defence Workforce Crisis: 500,000 Workers Needed by 2030

Europe Has the Money to Rearm. It Does Not Have the People.

European governments are spending record amounts on defence. NATO members have pledged to hit 2-3% of GDP. The EU has outlined plans for $800 billion in new defence investment. Defence budgets across the continent are growing at rates not seen since the Cold War.

But there is a problem that no amount of money can solve quickly: Europe does not have enough workers to build what it needs. The continent's defence industry faces a workforce gap of up to 500,000 people by 2030, according to estimates from industry groups and workforce analysts. Without a radical acceleration in recruitment and training, the rearmament of Europe will be delayed not by politics or budgets, but by empty factory floors and unfilled engineering desks.

This is the most important story in European defence right now -- and the biggest opportunity for anyone considering a career in the sector.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

25% of Defence Engineers Near Retirement

A quarter of Europe's defence engineering workforce is approaching retirement age, according to ASD Europe, the trade association representing the continent's aerospace, security, and defence industry. These are not easily replaced workers. They carry decades of institutional knowledge in areas like munitions manufacturing, radar system design, submarine construction, and explosive ordnance handling -- skills that cannot be learned from a textbook or an online course.

When these engineers leave, their knowledge leaves with them unless companies invest heavily in knowledge transfer and apprenticeship programmes. Many have not done so quickly enough.

4:1 Demand-to-Supply Ratios

In critical defence engineering specialisms, demand outstrips supply by a factor of four to one. For every qualified candidate available, four positions sit open. This ratio is particularly severe in:

Ammunition and explosives manufacturing -- a field that shrunk dramatically after the Cold War and now needs rapid expansion
Naval engineering -- submarine and frigate programmes across Europe are competing for the same small pool of maritime engineers
Radar and electronic warfare -- skills shared with the telecoms industry, which pays competitively
Cybersecurity -- the EU's tech talent demand-supply gap could reach 3.9 million workers by 2027, according to Randstad, and defence organisations must compete with better-paying tech companies

Rheinmetall: A Case Study in Scale

German defence giant Rheinmetall, Europe's largest ammunition manufacturer, announced plans to hire an additional 9,000 workers by 2028. To attract talent in a fiercely competitive market, the company raised wages by 8-10% -- an aggressive move that signals just how severe the competition for workers has become.

Rheinmetall is not alone. Every major European defence company -- from BAE Systems to Thales to Leonardo -- is scaling headcount at rates that their HR departments have never managed before. The challenge is multiplied for smaller companies and startups that cannot match the salaries or brand recognition of the primes.

Why This Crisis Is Different

Europe has faced defence skill shortages before. What makes the current situation structurally different is the simultaneous demand across multiple countries and multiple disciplines.

Everyone Is Hiring at Once

In previous defence cycles, one country would ramp up while others held steady. Today, Germany, France, the UK, Poland, the Nordics, the Baltics, and Southern Europe are all increasing defence production simultaneously. They are all drawing from the same European talent pool.

Poland is building one of Europe's strongest militaries, expanding its army and signing massive procurement contracts. Germany has committed a $107 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr. France is executing its military programming law with sustained spending increases. The Nordics, following Finland and Sweden's NATO accession, are investing heavily in defence infrastructure.

This creates a zero-sum competition for talent that drives up salaries and extends time-to-hire across the board.

The Skills Are Not Adjacent

Unlike software engineering, where a developer can move from fintech to defence with minimal retraining, many defence roles require highly specialised skills with long training cycles:

A munitions engineer needs years of training in explosives chemistry and safety protocols
A submarine welder requires certification in high-pressure hull fabrication techniques
A radar systems designer needs deep expertise in RF engineering and signal processing
A flight test engineer must understand both aerospace dynamics and safety certification frameworks

These are not roles where a six-week bootcamp closes the gap.

How Companies Are Responding

The most forward-thinking defence companies are not waiting for the talent market to fix itself. They are building their own pipelines.

In-House Training Schools

PBS Group, a Czech defence manufacturer, operates its own training school for manufacturing workers. Rather than competing for experienced engineers in the open market, the company recruits candidates with aptitude and trains them in-house -- bearing the cost but securing a reliable pipeline.

This model is gaining traction across Europe. Defence primes are partnering with universities to create defence-specific degree programmes, and several countries are introducing accelerated apprenticeship schemes for defence manufacturing.

Cross-Industry Recruitment

STV Group, another Central European defence company, actively recruits from the automotive industry -- leveraging the skills overlap in precision manufacturing, quality control, and supply chain management. As European automotive employment softens due to the EV transition, defence companies see an opportunity to absorb skilled workers from a shrinking sector.

This automotive-to-defence pipeline is particularly relevant in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, where both industries have strong presences.

Salary Escalation

The wage increases at Rheinmetall (8-10%) are being replicated across the sector. Defence companies that historically paid below tech-sector rates are now closing the gap -- and in some cases exceeding them. For engineers willing to work in defence, compensation packages have improved significantly in the last two years.

International Recruitment

European defence companies are increasingly hiring across borders. EU freedom of movement allows workers to relocate for defence roles, and companies are offering relocation packages, language training, and support for security clearance processes.

On DefenceJobs.org, we list positions across 31 European countries, and many companies accept candidates from anywhere in Europe. The interactive company map shows where hiring is concentrated -- and where opportunities exist in less obvious locations.

The Opportunity for Career Changers

The workforce crisis is bad news for governments and defence companies. It is excellent news for job seekers.

If you have engineering, technical, or manufacturing skills and are considering a career move, defence is offering conditions that did not exist three years ago:

Higher salaries -- wage competition is pushing pay upward across the sector
Job security -- defence budgets are locked in for the next decade; these are not cyclical jobs
Purpose-driven work -- building systems that protect democratic nations resonates with many professionals
Geographic flexibility -- from the Nordics to the Mediterranean, defence jobs exist in almost every European country
Training and upskilling -- companies are willing to invest in training because they have no alternative

Which Skills Are Most Transferable

Several industries produce workers whose skills translate well to defence:

Origin Industry	Transferable Skills	Defence Roles
Automotive	Precision manufacturing, QC, supply chain	Production engineering, quality assurance
Aerospace	Composite materials, flight systems, certification	Drone/UAV development, aircraft maintenance
Telecoms/IT	RF engineering, networking, cybersecurity	Radar systems, comms, cyber defence
Energy	Power systems, high-voltage, project management	Naval systems, field power, base infrastructure
Software/AI	ML engineering, data science, full-stack	Autonomous systems, ISR analysis, C2 systems

Where to Start

Browse 600+ open positions in European defence tech. Filter by your specialism:

Software and AI roles -- the fastest-growing category
Hardware and systems engineering -- the most in-demand traditional discipline
Operations and manufacturing -- where the workforce gap is most severe
Entry-level and junior positions -- companies are now hiring and training, not just poaching experienced workers
Internships -- a growing category as companies build early-career pipelines

Explore the 276+ companies in our directory to find one that matches your interests, location, and career goals. Companies like Helsing (AI), Milrem Robotics (ground autonomy), Quantum Systems (drones), and Isar Aerospace (space launch) are actively scaling teams.

Key Takeaways

Europe needs up to 500,000 additional defence workers by 2030 -- this is the single biggest constraint on the continent's rearmament plans
25% of defence engineers are near retirement, creating a knowledge drain that compounds the hiring challenge
Salaries are rising sharply -- Rheinmetall's 8-10% wage increases are a sector-wide trend
Career changers have a rare window of opportunity as companies invest in training and accept candidates from adjacent industries
The skills gap is most acute in manufacturing, naval engineering, ammunition production, radar/EW, and cybersecurity
Geographic opportunity is broad -- every major European country is hiring, and cross-border recruitment is standard