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Rolls-Royce has announced plans to double the size of its Raynesway site, creating hundreds of new jobs in Derby to support the growth in demand from the Royal Navy and to support the delivery of Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet as part of the AUKUS announcement.
Funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, the site development is required to meet the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines.
This increase in demand will see new manufacturing and office facilities being built on recently acquired land surrounding the existing Raynesway site. It will also create 1,170 skilled roles within Rolls-Royce across a range of disciplines, including manufacturing and engineering.
Rolls-Royce Submarines president Steve Carlier welcomed this major announcement, saying, “This is a truly exciting time for our business, with work secured that will see us support UK and Australian submarines well into the second half of this century. It will see thousands of jobs created across the UK supply chain, many of which here in Derby, and we’re proud to be playing our part in this international endeavour.”
As part of building and maintaining the skilled workforce pipeline, Rolls-Royce has co-invested with the UK Ministry of Defence to open a new Nuclear Skills Academy in Derby.
This new academy will provide 200 apprenticeships each year for at least the next decade. This latest announcement comes as outline planning permission is submitted to Derby City Council covering over 100,000 square metres of new floorspace across the Raynesway estate.
UK Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge, said, “This is a crucial investment and a significant next step in ensuring we have the capacity, skills, and nuclear expertise to support the UK’s current and future submarine programs, including the next-generation nuclear-powered submarines for the UK and Australia through our AUKUS partnership.”
Rolls-Royce is currently supporting the existing Astute and Dreadnought boat build programs through the delivery of a reactor plant and associated components. Additionally, it provides frontline support across the world for reactor plant equipment from its operations centre in Derby and supports the submarines when in the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard and the naval bases at Devonport and Faslane.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
