The Metrix consortium, which will build and run the new academy, said the "early works" contract would ready the site for full-scale construction once the final go-ahead was given.
The company in charge of building the £12bn defence academy has received a £29m contract from the Ministry of Defence for early work on the project.
The Defence Technical College at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan stands to create over 2,000 jobs and provide all the military training in the UK.
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That's event though the UK government announced a final decision on the project would be delayed until the summer.
The first stage will involve moving an RAF training school to a temporary location to allow demolition of existing buildings and preparatory works.
The Vale of Glamorgan council granted planning permission for the project in September, but the final decision rests with the UK government.
Construction was due to begin late this year, with the college billed to provide specialist engineering, communications and information systems training to all the UK's armed forces, bringing them together in one location on new premises.
The contract provides Metrix with a year's head start on an important body of site preparation activities, meaning that when the overall Defence Training Review (DTR) Package 1 Project contract is signed, work can begin immediately on the full-scale construction of the Defence Technical College.
Vale of Glamorgan MP John Smith told the BBC that the announcement is good news for the Welsh economy.
(BMcC/GK)
