BAE Systems to hike apprentice numbers
BAE Systems, the defence giant, has announced it is to nearly double the number of apprentices it takes on to 2,000 by 2018.
Chancellor George Osborne visited the company’s base at Warton in Lancashire and welcomed the pledge, which came after his announcement in the summer budget of an apprencticeship levy on big companies who are not investing in training and developing future talent.
He 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.
In March BAE Systems announced a £15m investment in a training academy to be built at Samlesbury – next to its second major Lancashire manufacturing site.
The company is already one of the largest employers of apprentices in the UK and currently has more than 1,000 apprentices in training at any one time.
It spends around £80m per year training employees and investing in apprenticeships and education to develop its future workforce.
Nigel Whitehead, BAE Systems’ group managing director, programmes & support said: “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.”
