How to harness the Gen Z talent opportunity in defence and security

To understand attitudes towards jobs in the defence and security sector, we surveyed 2,000 UK citizens across a range of backgrounds, ages, and regions. Our findings reveal a lack of openness and awareness across the board, but predominantly in the Gen Z age cohort (13-27 years old). The result is a lack of younger recruits, highlighting a major challenge for the sector.

Connecting with the Gen Z audience starts with understanding what makes them tick – what do they want from the roles they choose? Our research uncovered four central areas that are important to Gen Z: flexibility; mental health and wellness; ethical practices and value alignment; and variety. These areas offer quick wins for a strong employee value proposition underpinned by varied, flexible, meaningful, and supported roles – which can then be used to attract great talent.

Voice the variety

People have diverse career aspirations and want to pursue multiple different roles in their lifetime. But, importantly, when Gen Z respondents know about the breadth of career opportunities in the defence and security sector, they’re twice as open to taking on one of those roles. The problem is that almost half (48 percent) of Gen Z respondents don’t know about them.

The first step for defence and security organisations is to communicate the range of roles on offer, from programmers and software engineers to non-tech roles such as project managers and strategists. It’s not all about frontline fighting. It’s all the more important to voice the variety given that concern for safety is the number one reason Gen Z respondents give for not joining the sector.

Knowing about the roles is one thing – feeling like you can progress in these roles is another. Over a third (38 percent) of Gen Z respondents strongly agree that the sector provides opportunities to develop a wide variety of skills. A similar percentage agree that there are clear career paths and learning opportunities. So, there’s a clear impetus (beyond the obvious benefits) to keep investing in robust training programmes, and include them in recruitment narratives. Importantly, organisations need to be able to voice career opportunities in the wider ecosystem, encouraging partners to develop roles together to attract young professionals who value growth and development.

Major on meaning

Meaningful, purposeful work is one of the sector’s strengths. Our survey found that 37 percent of Gen Z respondents strongly agree that the sector offers meaningful work. However, only 24 percent strongly agree that the sector’s values align with their own. In light of public interest in social and environmental issues, it’s key for defence and security organisations to emphasise their central role in addressing global challenges for a safer, more sustainable future.

Around a third of Gen Z respondents think that the sector positively impacts local and global communities. By better communicating the impact of defence and security work on the health, safety, and security of society, organisations can speak to the shifting priorities of potential talent pools. One way to do this is by sharing case studies and examples that highlight the positive impact. For example, the Ministry of Defence is working with Team Protect on a Force Protection Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) programme, providing next-generation solutions to counter the threat of radio controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Focus on flexibility

Gen Z place high value on flexibility and a healthy work-life balance; Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Special Report found that Gen Z people are 77 percent more likely to stay at a job for longer if it provides flexibility. In our survey, only 22 percent of Gen Z respondents believe that the defence and security sector offers flexible working hours and a good work-life balance. The same is true for other age groups, revealing an opportunity to build more choice and control into careers, such as remote work options, flexible hours, and policies that support a good work-life balance.

Work on wellness

Prospective employees place significant importance on mental health and wellness at work. Just over a quarter (27 percent) of Gen Z respondents feel that the defence and security sector cares about the mental health of its employees. So, there’s room to strengthen perceptions of how the sector prioritises mental health, and actively build a culture where wellness is a priority rather than an afterthought. Defence and security organisations can cultivate this culture through psychologically safe environments, enabling people to learn from mistakes and develop the right behaviours.

Attracting and retaining tech-savvy Gen Z recruits is crucial to responding to the changing nature of local and globalised threats, and hinges on a strong employee value proposition, communicated in a resonant and relevant way. For Gen Z, their priorities are variety and development, flexibility, meaning, and a culture that cares about and supports employees. Additionally, there’s a need to ensure that existing staff buy into and can articulate the employee value proposition to support word-of-mouth outreach and engagement.

The imperative for defence and security organisations is clear – shed traditional hierarchical career paths in favour of dynamic, fluid career journeys. And, above all, shout loudly about the breadth and scope of roles available, and the real impact on a granular and global scale.