Skip to main content

| Rolls-Royce

Alert

An Engine for Growth

Rolls-Royce is the UK’s aerospace and nuclear champion. We are an engine for growth for the UK economy and proud partner to the UK’s armed forces.

For over a century Rolls-Royce has powered, protected and connected our nation. In partnership with Government we have built highly differentiated sovereign capabilities in aero-engine and nuclear technology.

Through Rolls-Royce, the UK is one of only two countries that can research, develop, design, manufacture, assemble and service the large jet engines that keep the world’s international airlines in the skies. In defence, we provide the critical sovereign combat jet engine capability that helps protect our nation. No other single private company has our end-to-end nuclear capabilities and our civil nuclear Small Modular Reactor power station venture – Rolls-Royce SMR – is the only company with multiple contractual commitments to deliver units in Europe. It is well placed to become a market leader.

As we look to the future, there is now a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a step-change in growth, resilience, security and prosperity by backing our expertise. Actions taken now to invest and grow the UK’s sovereign aerospace and nuclear capabilities have enormous potential to drive growth, skills and jobs over the next few decades.

Making the UK a world leader

Rolls-Royce is a strategic national asset, positioning the UK to win on the global stage while delivering for the country. Around the world, more than 150 national airlines and cargo operators, and over 20 allied Air Forces, rely on the jet engines assembled in, or built with parts from, Derby and Bristol, to transport passengers and freight or deliver vital 24/7 security. Every three seconds, an aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce engines takes off or lands, supporting advanced manufacturing jobs and securing vital sovereign capability

We manufacture in the UK and sell to the world: 80% of our domestic output goes overseas and we account for £1 in every £50 of all UK goods exported. For instance, our Derby-made Trent XWB, for long-haul commercial airliners, has already generated over £30bn in UK export value, supporting thousands of jobs.

Turning ideas into industry

At Rolls-Royce, our advanced research and manufacturing expertise provides sovereign capabilities and strategic advantage for the UK. Industrialising that research generates high-paying, high-skilled and highly productive jobs.

We support 73,000 jobs spread across every UK nation, including 23,000 at our 37 sites, and spend over £2bn with over 1,350 British suppliers.

We make a £7.4bn economic contribution across the UK through our operations, with an additional £4.4bn in productivity-boosting R&D spillover effects – that’s almost £12bn for the UK.

Rolls-Royce – delivering across the UK

International links with local impact

The technology and expertise we have at Rolls-Royce places us at the heart of some of the UK’s most strategic international collaborations. We deliver for the country on the world stage.

UK-built Rolls-Royce EJ200 engines power the Eurofighter Typhoon as part of the UK’s partnership with Germany, Italy and Spain, protecting us and our allies. Our involvement in the GCAP consortium brings the UK together with Japan and Italy to power the future of air combat. We are a critical partner in AUKUS, working with Australia and the US in a collaboration already creating jobs and investment.

More than 150 national airlines and cargo operators worldwide rely on our Derby-made jet engines to connect the world. In total, our partnerships span over 150 countries, providing soft power for the UK.

The backbone of UK advanced manufacturing

Our research and manufacturing expertise provides sovereign capabilities and strategic advantage. Industrialising our research generates high-paying, high-skilled, highly productive jobs.

We support 73,000 jobs spread across every UK nation, including 23,000 at our 37 sites, and spend over £2bn with over 1,350 British suppliers.

We are an engine for economic growth

What Is Rolls-Royce’s Economic and Social Impact in the UK? Frequently Asked Questions

Select Tabs

How does Rolls-Royce support high-skilled UK jobs?

Rolls-Royce is one of the UK's leading high-skilled employers, directly providing jobs for more than 23,000 workers across 37 sites. This UK workforce is the backbone of our broader global operation, making up over 50% of Rolls-Royce's employees worldwide.

Through our business, we also support an additional 50,000 jobs every year, via indirect and induced employment. Our company spends over £2bn annually with more than 1,350 British suppliers. This means that for every Rolls-Royce employee working today, two more jobs exist in the British economy that would not otherwise be there. This multiplier is particularly pronounced in the area around Derby, our largest UK site, where as many as one in eight workers are supported by our operations.

Alongside being highly productive, our people are highly loyal, with record rates of employee retention in the UK. Employees in our Civil Aerospace division, for example, have a median tenure of 11 years – 60% longer than the national average. One in five team members have been at Rolls-Royce for over two decades. It makes us immensely proud that we are able to provide long-term careers, benefitting our people and local communities.

How is Rolls-Royce investing in skills and talent across the UK?

In order to compete in global markets, Rolls-Royce works hard to equip the next generation of talent with the skills they need for success. Every year, we train over 500 interns and apprentices through our in-house academies. We also support approximately 300 PhD candidates annually, through partnerships with 14 British universities.

Due to our sustained investment in attracting and retaining new talent, more than one in four (27%) of our employees in our Defence division are under the age of 30. In our Civil Aerospace division the number is 19%. Through new initiatives like our Nuclear Skills Academy, Rolls-Royce is helping to reinforce Britain's talent pipeline for years to come.

How does Rolls-Royce contribute to regional economic growth across the UK?

Rolls-Royce is one of the central pillars of British industry, generating thousands of jobs in the UK's industrial heartlands. As a major employer, 90% of our operations are located in regions outside the South-East. Our largest operations – for Civil Aerospace and Submarines – are located in Derby, while our Defence operations are headquartered in Bristol. We have further facilities in the North-West and the North-East of England, as well as in Scotland and Wales.

In the East Midlands alone our Civil Aerospace activities and operations that support the UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet, support one in every 50 jobs and contribute £4.4bn in GDP to the local economy. Our operations in the South-West support over 4,400 local jobs and contribute £500m in local economic impact, anchoring the region to a world-leading aerospace and advanced manufacturing supply chain.

How does Rolls-Royce help improve productivity in the UK?

Rolls-Royce's economic impact stretches beyond our immediate operations. For every £1 the UK Government contributes to Rolls-Royce in R&D support, we generate £33 in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK economy. It's no surprise, then, that our employee productivity rate – at £84 GVA per hour worked – is nearly twice the UK national average. Our own advances in productivity provide the foundations for other companies to grow.

How does Rolls-Royce invest in research and development in the UK?

Rolls-Royce is a UK leader in R&D. Over the past decade, we've invested £6.8bn in R&D, spending £882m in the UK last year alone. Our operations account for 1.5% of all the R&D spending made by the private sector in the UK. In the decade since 2015, we have filed over 1,950+ patents first in the UK.

How does Rolls-Royce help drive UK exports and international trade?

Rolls-Royce is one of the biggest UK drivers of international trade, accounting for £1 in every £50 (2%) of all UK goods exported and 5% of all the nation’s advanced manufacturing exports. In fact, 80% of everything we make in the UK is exported – an annual value exceeding £8bn.

How is Rolls-Royce ensuring Britain's competitiveness in the commercial aviation market?

Thanks to our globally renowned engineering expertise, we have supplied engines to over 50% of all new long-haul (or widebody) aircraft since 2023. Our success is helping secure Britain's status as one of the top global players in the growing commercial aviation market.

Our Trent XWB engine – launched in 2015 – leads the way as the world's most efficient large aero-engine in service. Powering the global fleet of Airbus A350s, the Trent XWB enables ultra-long-range flight routes. With over 2,600 engines so far delivered from Derby, the Trent XWB has generated £30bn in UK exports.

How is Rolls-Royce underpinning the UK Defence sector?

In the past five years, Rolls-Royce's Defence operations have grown by almost 40% and helped the wider supply chain to grow – with more than £380m spent with British suppliers in 2024 alone. Our power and propulsion solutions are central to the Eurofighter Typhoon and Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), supporting Britain's sovereign air combat capability.

Since 1958, Rolls-Royce has been the sole custodian of UK submarine nuclear reactors. In that time, we have delivered more than 30 naval reactor plants and nearly 90 reactor cores

CLOSE

Downloads

Rolls Royce Economic and Social Impact Report
pdf - 5.0MB
Download

Daniel Hooper

Vice President, Government Relations UK

Brandon Minichiello

Global Government Relations Manager