BAE to recruit 500 Lancashire apprentices and graduates

BAE Systems has announced its largest ever intake of apprentices and graduates, with more than 500 new recruits to be based at its Lancashire sites.

Across the UK, the engineering giant will take on 2,600 new apprentices and graduates in 2023, representing a 43 per cent increase over this year’s early careers intake.

That figure includes 201 apprentices, 60 undergraduates and 238 graduates within the air division across Samlesbury and Warton, as well as 57 apprentices, one undergraduate and seven graduates within the shared services division at Preston.

Including digital intelligence in Manchester and its work in Barrow, the total intake across the North West is 1,416, representing a significant majority of the UK total.

BAE Systems invests approximately £100m in education, skills and early careers activities in the UK annually and currently has almost 4,300 apprentices and graduates in training across its UK businesses, equivalent to more than 10 per cent of its 35,000 strong UK workforce.

Around 95 per cent of apprentice trainees complete their apprenticeship with BAE Systems and go on to secure full time employment with the Company.

Tania Gandamihardja, group director of human resources at BAE Systems, said: “Faced with economic challenges not seen in a generation, it’s essential for businesses like ours to invest in the next generation to equip young people with the skills they need to achieve their full potential and support social mobility.

“Providing high-quality early careers programmes gives young people a route into long-term employment and helps recruit the talent we need to deliver on vital national defence and security programmes, such as the Tempest next-generation combat aircraft and Dreadnought nuclear submarines.”

Robert Halfon, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, said: “Apprenticeships are the catalyst to boosting the economy, building a skills nation and extending the ladder of opportunity to all.

“It’s extraordinary to see leading apprentice employer BAE Systems plan to recruit over 2,600 apprentices and graduates this year across key industries including cyber security, aerospace engineering and software development.”