• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Monday September 28 2026

West welcomes chancellor’s 130,000 jobs pledge

Chancellor John Healey has pledged to create or support 130,000 new jobs across the UK by 2030, using the National Wealth Fund to crowd in private investment in AI, defence, advanced manufacturing and clean energy – in a move backed by West leaders.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Mr Healey said the government had a “moral duty” to get young people and benefit claimants into work, and set out the 130,000‑job target as part of a wider push to reindustrialise Britain.

The jobs will be backed by the National Wealth Fund’s current capitalisation, with ministers arguing that public money will “unlock” additional private sector investment rather than funding every role directly.

Mr Healey singled out artificial intelligence, technology, defence and clean energy as the core growth engines, promising that adoption of AI would help build “world‑leading” UK tech firms and future industries.

Defence spending also features prominently, with £6bn of shipbuilding contracts earmarked for British yards and major private investments such as Rolls‑Royce’s £300 million factory programme in Bristol, Derby, Glasgow and Rotherham highlighted as evidence of “new confidence in Britain”

On the regional front, the Chancellor announced £100m for mayors to run new local apprenticeship teams, designed to act like “football scouts” linking young people to employers, including small firms that have never offered apprenticeships.

The jobs pledge comes ahead of Mr Healey’s first Budget on Wednesday, October 28, with the Chancellor under pressure to show how reindustrialisation will be paid for amid high borrowing costs and recent job cuts at firms such as Jaguar Land Rover.

While stressing fiscal discipline, Mr Healey argued that growth was the “only answer” to Britain’s economic challenges, framing the 130,000‑job target as a cornerstone of that strategy.

Welcoming the announcement, Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “As the country’s fastest-growing regional economy, the West is home to many of the industries that will help ensure our country’s future success, such as advanced manufacturing and clean energy.

“Additional funding for Mayors to deliver apprenticeships will mean more opportunities for local young people in particular, further accelerating our efforts to become the first NEET Zero region in the country.

“Alongside this, the £90 million plus investment by Rolls Royce is a huge boost for our region, further backing workers in our West Innovation Arc growth zone.”