BAE Systems is offering 568 new apprenticeship places in 2014, the highest intake since the company was formed some 14 years ago and 181 more than the company offered in 2013.
The new recruits will work at sixteen BAE sites in the UK and join the company in September 2014.
The increase can in part be attributed to a requirement for hundreds of highly skilled submarine manufacturing employees to meet the largest workload for two decades at the shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. The yard is currently working on delivering the five remaining Astute class attack submarines and is recruiting to develop the new ‘Successor’ submarines which are due to replace the Vanguard class from 2028.
The announcement follows research by YouGov – commissioned by BAE Systems and the Royal Academy of Engineering in November – which revealed that public opinion regarding apprenticeships is changing rapidly, driving a boost in demand for places.
According to the research, almost half (46 per cent) of British parents of children aged 11-18 would encourage their children to take an apprenticeship. Forty-two per cent said that their perception of apprenticeships had changed positively in the last year, while over two-thirds (67 per cent) were pleased that apprenticeships are now presented as an attractive option for young people.
Apprentices are part of the fabric of BAE Systems, with half of senior executives at the military aircraft business joining as apprentices.
BAE Systems, December 31, 2013