Hull College brings industry and education together to tackle UK space sector skills challenge

Hull College is bringing together leaders from industry, education and the space sector for a major event focused on one of the biggest challenges facing the UK’s growing space economy – where its future workforce will come from.

The Workforce Beneath the Satellites: Building the UK’s Space Workforce Together will be held at the college on Thursday, October 8, as part of World Space Week.

Developed in partnership with Space Hub Yorkshire, the event will focus on the broader workforce needed to support the growth of the sector.

Engineers, technicians, manufacturers, digital and data specialists, cyber experts and people working in logistics, construction and environmental technologies are among the many occupations which will increasingly underpin the space economy.

The event will bring together representatives from Further Education, industry, careers and skills organisations and the space sector to examine where demand is growing, what skills employers will need and how education can respond.

Hull College Principal and CEO Debra Gray CBE said the aim was to turn discussion about the UK’s space skills challenge into practical action.

She said: “There is a huge amount of ambition around the growth of the UK space sector, but ultimately that ambition can only be realised if we have the people with the skills to deliver it.

“When people hear ‘space’, they still tend to think of astronauts, scientists and rockets. But there is a much bigger workforce beneath that – the people who will build, operate, maintain and support the technology and infrastructure the sector needs.

“Many of those skills are already being developed every day in Further Education. The challenge is making those connections much clearer and ensuring colleges have a stronger voice in the national conversation about the future space workforce.

“That is why this event is important. We don’t simply want to spend a day talking about the skills challenge and then go home. We want industry to tell us what it needs, education to listen and respond, and everyone in the room to think about what they can practically do next.”

The event will be hosted by Hull College Vice Principal for Education and Impact Liz Ridley and will feature contributions from experts working across industry, careers, skills and the space sector.

Speakers include Matt Child, Managing Director of Mach Space Ltd; Emma Hatton, Director of Earth Observation Services and Solutions; Georgia Halston, Group CEO of Halston Group and Ambassador for the Space Women Alliance; John Yarham, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company; and representatives of Space Hub Yorkshire. Debra will also set out Hull College’s response to the workforce challenge.

The afternoon will see speakers come together for a panel discussion exploring the skills the sector will need over the next five to 10 years, how opportunities can be opened up to a more diverse workforce and what needs to change in the relationship between industry and education.

Delegates will then be asked to move the conversation towards action by identifying what needs to start happening, what needs to change and what they or their organisations can commit to helping deliver.

The event follows Hull College’s recent launch of ORBIT (Opening Routes Between Industry and Talent), an innovative programme designed to introduce FE students to the breadth of careers connected to space.

Developed under a special project run by the Space Universities Network (SUN) with funding from the UK Space Agency, ORBIT comprises 12 flexible micromodules which can be incorporated into existing Level 2 and Level 3 vocational programmes.

Rather than treating space as a standalone STEM subject, it connects the industry to areas including engineering, digital and AI, construction, manufacturing, logistics, cyber security, business, agriculture and health and care. The ambition is ultimately to make ORBIT freely available to colleges nationally.

The Workforce Beneath the Satellites also builds on Space Tech Horizons, hosted by Hull College in June 2025 in collaboration with Space Hub Yorkshire. That event brought business leaders, innovators and educators together to explore how space technology was already influencing sectors including engineering, construction, manufacturing and digital technology across Hull, Yorkshire and beyond.

Debra added: “Space Tech Horizons helped demonstrate that this isn’t some distant industry which has little relevance to our region. Space technology is already influencing industries and businesses here.

“ORBIT is about taking the next step and making those opportunities visible to learners. Now we want to bring education and industry together and ask what more we need to do collectively.

“Further Education has the scale, reach and technical expertise to make a significant contribution. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t, and we want to make sure people from every background can see that there could be a place for them in this industry.”

• The Workforce Beneath the Satellites: Building the UK’s Space Workforce Together takes place at Hull College from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, October 8. A light lunch will be provided for delegates at the college’s award-winning Bilocca training restaurant. To register for the event, visit https://www.hull-college.ac.uk/space-conference/