BAE announces commitment to 2,000 apprentices by 2018

 BAE Systems has announced its commitment to significantly grow the number of UK apprentices in training to 2,000 by 2018 during a visit by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at their Military Air and Information site at Warton.

The commitment is a continuation of their significant investment in skills, with the company  already being one of the largest employers of apprentices in the UK with more than 1,000 apprentices currently in training at any one time.

BAE Systems spends around £80m per year training employees and investing in apprenticeships and education to develop its future workforce, and also trains apprentices on behalf of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and suppliers in its UK supply chain.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “Britain’s great businesses have a hugely important role to play in training up the next generation and I was delighted to visit BAE Systems, a company right at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse, to hear about their plans to employ 2,000 apprentices.

"We need a new system that encourages more employers to deliver high quality apprentices and this levy will help us make huge progress.

“My Budget put security first and delivered on our plan for working people in the North West, setting out the next steps in building the Northern Powerhouse.”

Nigel Whitehead, BAE Systems’ group managing director, programmes & support said: “It was our pleasure to host the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Warton to see at first hand the investments we are making to keep our Company and employees at the forefront of productivity and technology development.

"BAE Systems designs, builds and supports some of the most complex capabilities for armed forces and security services around the world.  Our employment of 2,000 apprentices by 2018 illustrates our commitment to ensure our workforce here in the UK remains amongst the best trained and qualified in our sector, anywhere in the world.”