4:20 PM EDT — If you’re a UK contractor working on a project overseas, then you might soon have to take that job overseas to work in a foreign country.
In a major announcement made today, the UK’s Department of Defense says it plans to slash its workforce by 20 percent in the next five years, to around 10,000 contractors and subcontractors.
The announcement comes after the government announced a record number of contractors and contractors licensees in the first six months of 2017, an increase of more than 8,000 from the same period last year.
The Department of the Army said that by 2021, the number of licensed contractors and contractors would be less than 1,000, with the government expecting a further reduction in the number over the next three years.
The government said that the government’s workforce is at “its peak” and will “recover in the near future,” but it also said that it was “encouraging” that more and better-trained staff were being recruited.
“We want to help our contractors and suppliers who have to deal with the pressures of a changing industry, which is a new business model,” said the Defense Ministry in a statement.
“To do so, we need more skilled and dedicated people to manage the ever-changing challenges in the service sector.”
More:The government announced that the UK would invest £50 million ($70 million) to create more than 10,300 jobs in the future, with 1,400 jobs at a total cost of £150 million ($183 million).
