The Ukraine war and intensifying geopolitical tensions are prompting arms and military suppliers in the U.S. and Europe to actively recruit workers, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Defense contractors’ orders are at a record, as Western governments have continued to increase spending in recent years. Defense manufacturers for the U.S. and its allies are focused on replacing artillery and missiles they have supplied to Ukraine, along with building military ships.

$2.24T on Military Spending in 2022

Globally, defense spending was up 3.7% to a record $2.24 trillion in 2022, according to data from think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released Monday.

Other factors pressuring military supplies are semiconductor chips and rocket motor parts still not available due to supply chain disruptions, rising costs due to inflation, and workers not returning to plants after the pandemic.

Then there are the staffing challenges intrinsic to military suppliers, long used to high attrition, the challenge of recruiting workers for specialized jobs, and competition from auto and airplane manufacturers. Growing demand for space exploration and virtual reality technology is adding to the hiring crunch.

Making recruiting even more difficult are security clearances and, often, long commutes to rural areas where many military plants are located due to environmental and safety concerns.

All of this makes defense workers a “rare commodity,” says Colin McClean, managing director of Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land, a manufacturer of tanks and armored vehicles in the U.K.

“Our first priority is really to ramp up capacity, which, of course, means increasing staff,” says Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales, a French company that makes submarine and jet sensors. Thales plans to hire 12,000 people this year.

“Defense companies are worried at the moment about recruitment,” says Aimie Stone, chief economist at ADS Group, a military trade association in the U.K.

Actively Recruiting

Defense contractors are actively recruiting for talent like never before, sending recruiting teams to college campuses, seeking out potential employees at apprentice schools and community colleges, and hosting job fairs.

Many have ramped up their online advertising and become more creative with social media. Some are offering pay raises and sign-on bonuses.

The recruiting quotas are ambitious. Lockheed plans to hire an additional 200 workers for its 1,000-person facility in Camden, Arkansas, 100 miles away from the state capital of Little Rock.

BAE Systems Plc, the biggest defense company in Europe, plans to hire 2,600 this year for its apprentice and graduate training programs, on top of several thousand more in other key areas.

Saab AB, manufacturer of the Gripen fighter jet, and Rheinmetall AG, which makes the Leopard tank, each aim to hire thousands in 2023.

But even with all of these efforts, complicated security clearances can thwart hiring. Vetting candidates in Europe can take two weeks for low-level positions and as long as eight weeks for senior roles. In the U.S., the entire process typically takes months.

“Some candidates don’t want to wait around,” says Kieran Slaughter, a recruiter with Mane Contract Services.

Two factors that could possibly turn the tide are public sympathy for Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russia and layoffs in technology due to a weakening economy.

As BAE Group Human Resources Director Tania Gandamihardja puts it, “People are suddenly realizing that the defense industry is one of the solutions to help.”