Defence firms will no longer attend University of Sheffield following ‘woke’ backlash

Defence firms will allegedly no longer attend the University of Sheffield after facing backlash from student protestors.

The companies have reportedly cancelled their attendance at university careers fairs across the UK due to security concerns.

There is believed to be approximately a dozen UK universities that won’t be attended by the firms due to these concerns, with Sheffield allegedly being one mentioned.

According to The Times, some also say they have withdrawn from events nationwide due to advice from various universities’ security.

This comes as the Ministry of Defence is alleged to have created a list of UK universities where a number of companies were due to have events, such as careers fairs, but cancelled them due to advice or their own concerns.

The University of Sheffield is one of the institutions on the list that will no longer be hosting defence firms for its careers fairs, along with the University of Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, and Warwick.

An industry source accused the UK-wide protests of creating a “quite literally hostile environment”, highlighting that preventing their safe access to university careers fairs is denying young people jobs.

Additionally, companies have blamed their decline in recruitment numbers as a direct result of student backlash.

Kevin Craven, chief executive of the ADS group, which represents aerospace and security companies, said students’ “woke approach” has resulted in the companies cancelling due to their own security fears. Calling the protests “unhelpful” and suggesting through preventing successful recruitment it will eventually “benefit foreign defence companies”.

At a careers fair at the Octagon last semester, protestors attempted to block students accessing the building, and clashed with security staff.

Defence companies have claimed that hostility from has increased since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October 2023.

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The CEO of Leonado, Roberto Cingolani, accused university students of holding “biased points of view”, adding that peace “does not happen automatically”.

A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield told The Sheffield Tab: “The university is committed to providing students with opportunities to research and meet a wide range of organisations offering placements and graduate jobs at our careers fairs, so they can make their own informed decisions about their future careers.

“While we support freedom of speech and peaceful protest, we do not condone any actions that disrupt events or intimidate students, staff, or visitors. We sometimes inform exhibitors out of courtesy of any expected protests, however the decision for any company to attend or withdraw is ultimately theirs.”

Featured image via Google Maps.