BAE Systems to recruit record 1,250 new apprentices and graduates
Defence giant BAE Systems will create 1,250 jobs next year when it takes on a record number of trainees.
The group will hire 850 apprentices and 400 graduates – more than half of which will be based in the north of England in a boost for the Government's aim to "level up" the regions.
BAE has a joint venture at Hadley Castle Works, Telford, known as Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) and specialising in land combat vehicles.
BAE is taking on 200 more graduates than it did this year, and 50 more apprentices for huge projects including the Dreadnought submarines and designs for a new UK fighter jet, called Tempest.
Out of the 1,250, 763 will be based at the firm's North West sites including Salmesbury, Warton and Barrow, and 186 will be based in the South East, with 100 in Scotland. That's as well as 80 in Yorkshire, with 53 split between Brough and Humberside Airport and 27 in Applied Intellience in Leeds, 37 in the South West and 17 in Wales.
Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE Systems, said: “Getting people back to work and creating high-quality jobs is a national priority. So, it’s more important than ever that those of us who are in a position to do so continue our investment in the UK workforce.
“We’re fortunate that our business is based on long-term critical defence programmes, giving us the confidence to increase our apprentice and graduate recruitment to create a strong talent pipeline, which enables us to continue delivering cutting-edge technologies, whilst playing a role in supporting the UK’s economic recovery.”
In total BAE has nearly 88,000 employees in dozens of countries, with more than 34,000 in the UK.
