We have welcomed our first intake of Kickstart recruits, with seven young people joining our Air Sector business in Samlesbury, Lancashire on 12 April 2021.
During their six month placement, the new recruits will gain experience and business acumen from those involved in the support and maintenance of the UK’s military air capability including Hawk, Typhoon and F-35 and the development of capabilities for Tempest; the next generation of combat aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
The new recruits will work in functions such as Project Management, Procurement and Commercial, where they will gain insight and experience into the critical support that BAE Systems, its partners and suppliers provide to the UK’s defence and security capability.
More than 30 young people are joining across our UK sites, embarking on placements which are designed to give them the opportunity to build their skills, confidence and gain experience with the aim of improving their chances of finding long-term work.
Nigel Davies, Principal of the Academy of Skills and Knowledge in Samlesbury said: “We’re delighted to be part of the Kickstart scheme and are hopeful that it will provide a new pipeline of talent for young people into our apprenticeship and graduate programmes as we continue to seek to recruit people from diverse backgrounds and help young people achieve their full potential.”
Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said: “It’s great to see BAE Systems brilliantly backing this Government’s Kickstart Scheme – helping our next generation of workers become engineers, technicians and train in high-quality roles, enabling them to develop the key skills to thrive in work.
“There is real potential for them to progress further into training and career opportunities across BAE Systems after the six months, highlighting how our Plan for Jobs is boosting long-term job prospects as we push to build back better and level up the country.”
The Kickstart Scheme, part of the government’s Plan for Jobs, aims to create hundreds of thousands job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit, who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
We are committed to creating high quality training and job opportunities for young people and we are a proud supporter of the Movement to Work programme which provides work experience for young people not in employment or training. In total, more than 600 young people have undertaken placements with us and in 2019, 80% of those completing placements went on to continue their training or secure permanent employment, including 33 who secured roles in our business.
We recently announced that in 2021 we will recruit more than 850 apprentices and 400 graduates, the highest intake in a single year. We will also offer more than 200 industrial placements and summer internships.
