Employment at Dorset Innovation Park has increased by 125 full-time equivalent jobs over the past year as the county’s only Enterprise Zone pushes ahead with plans for a new skills centre.<\/p>\n
The park, which came under full management by Dorset Innovation Park Ltd in July 2026, has also generated operational efficiencies valued at more than \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n
Yeovil College is proposing around \u00a32.4m of Defence Technical Excellence College capital investment towards a new Advanced Engineering and Defence Skills Centre at the park, alongside further investment of around \u00a3800,000 in specialist engineering and defence equipment, subject to approval by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n
Cllr Richard Biggs, Dorset Council cabinet member for regeneration, economic growth and strategic assets, said: “Since the company began work in September 2025, our shared focus has been on creating the conditions for businesses to invest and grow. The increase in employment, commitment to new facilities and improvements to the park’s operation show that this work is producing results.”<\/p>\n
Dorset Council is working with the college to explore additional co-investment and support for the development.<\/p>\n
The ambition is to create a permanent advanced engineering and defence skills presence at the park, providing full-time technical education, apprenticeships, adult training and employer-led workforce development to help build the specialist workforce required by Dorset’s growing defence and advanced manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n
The innovation park and Dorset Council are also partners in a project seeking to create a Global Autonomy Cluster.<\/p>\n
The \u00a320m initiative is funded through the Local Innovation Partnership Fund and led by Plymouth University.<\/p>\n
Businesses at the park and across the surrounding region are preparing a capital funding request for a Multi Domain Autonomy Command and Control Centre within the programme.<\/p>\n
Proposals also include a drone corridor linking Dorset Innovation Park with Portland.<\/p>\n
Alongside plans for a Maker Space to support rapid innovation, these proposals would expand the region’s drone and autonomy testing infrastructure, with the ambition of making Dorset the UK’s leading location for testing autonomous systems across land, sea and air.<\/p>\n
The enhanced testing capabilities will feature in a new Dorset Defence Prospectus being developed with businesses and partners across the county.<\/p>\n
Expected to be completed by the end of 2026, it will highlight a sector already contributing \u00a3437m to Dorset’s economy and set out opportunities for further investment.<\/p>\n
In September, BattleLab at the park hosted a major NATO event, bringing together more than 44 companies from 14 nations.<\/p>\n
A visit by a University of Connecticut delegation is being arranged to explore collaboration with researchers and businesses across the South West around the UK, US and Australian AUKUS submarine programme.<\/p>\n
Kevin Forshaw, managing director of Dorset Innovation Park Ltd, said: “This is an extremely exciting time for Dorset Innovation Park, with significant growth projected for next year. Dorset’s technological role in UK defence is not fully appreciated, and it is encouraging to be working with leading companies on the park and across the surrounding area to raise awareness of our contribution to the nation’s security and resilience.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defence and autonomy cluster ambitions drive growth at Enterprise Zone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":48737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,8,120667,50204],"coauthors":[160],"class_list":["post-48734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-people","category-smes","category-technology","tag-dorset","tag-featured-story","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\n