“The AUKUS pact will provide secure, highly-skilled jobs not only for Sheffield Forgemasters and Yorkshire but for the wider UK supply chain, over decades.” That local promise framed a Washington meeting on 10 December, where Australia’s Richard Marles, the UK’s John Healey and the United States’ Pete Hegseth met at the Pentagon to reaffirm AUKUS and speed up work on the shared submarine industrial base. The US role was described by the Ministry of Defence as the Secretary of War.

The UK Government says the partnership is now moving “full steam ahead” after a US review. In the last 18 months the UK has committed £6 billion to AUKUS, with ministers outlining plans for continuous submarine production-up to 12 SSN‑AUKUS boats-and thousands of skilled roles. Nuclear sector salaries average about £45,500, roughly 20% above the national figure.

For Cumbria, this is concrete. The Defence Nuclear Enterprise projects Barrow’s shipyard workforce will keep climbing-from just under 11,000 in 2023 to 13,500 now and a projected 16,500 by 2027-as Astute, Dreadnought and SSN‑AUKUS builds overlap. Government figures also point to a nationwide defence‑nuclear workforce need of around 65,000 by 2030, backed by new regional skills hubs and a growing pipeline of apprentices and graduates.

Investment is reaching beyond the yard gates. Earlier this year ministers rebadged Barrow as a national example of defence spending’s local impact, with a £200 million Barrow Transformation Fund and targeted support for schools and community groups to help the town absorb rapid industrial growth.

Yesterday’s trilateral statement put the emphasis on two tracks: submarines under Pillar I and advanced capabilities under Pillar II. The three ministers committed to accelerate delivery, citing near‑term operational needs. UK officials also said the US review had cleared the way for delivery, language echoed in London and by the Financial Times, which reported the White House is backing progress.

South Yorkshire is already feeling the pull. “Sheffield Forgemasters is a shining light of UK industry that helps boost global security and employs skilled staff from the local community,” said Defence Secretary John Healey during a site visit to see AUKUS components in production. The company is installing a new 13,000‑tonne forging line to meet demand as the SSN‑AUKUS programme ramps up.

The broader treaty framework signed in July underpins the push: officials forecast more than 21,000 people working on SSN‑AUKUS at UK sites at peak, around 7,000 additional skilled roles and up to £20 billion in export potential over 25 years. For Northern suppliers-from precision forgings to control systems-that is long‑run, repeatable work rather than one‑off orders.

Capacity and skills remain the pinch points. Parliamentary evidence highlights tight US submarine output-about 1.2 Virginias a year-and calls for secondments and mutual recognition of qualifications across the three countries to hit schedules. That same evidence points to peak UK demand at roughly 21,000 roles tied to SSN‑AUKUS and supporting programmes.

Australia’s timeline is equally demanding. Canberra says it will meet the challenges of hosting a rotational force of US and UK submarines in Western Australia from 2027 while building its own capability, with senior US figures publicly signalling AUKUS is pressing ahead. That creates immediate opportunities for export‑ready Northern firms to feed into allied supply chains.

For Northern learners and workers, the message is simple: there will be sustained demand-from welders and machinists to nuclear engineers and software specialists. With one new UK attack submarine slated every 18 months once the line stabilises, the work should be steady-so long as training providers, councils and industry keep pace together.