BAE Systems wants to hire 2,400 students and graduates by 2025

BAE Systems will have a record 6,500 young people in training after hiring more than 2,400 new apprentices and graduates next year.

Europe’s largest defense company, which helped build the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, says the number in training will be equivalent to 15 percent of its total workforce.

It expects to employ around 1,300 apprentices, the majority of whom will be based in northern England, along with more than 1,100 graduates and students who will work on projects such as the Global Combat Air Programme.

The FTSE 100 group plans to invest £230 million in education and skills next year, meaning it will have spent at least £1 billion on upskilling people in the UK since 2020.

Such investments have enabled the company to open a shipbuilding facility in Glasgow this year, its third skills academy joining sites in Samlesbury, Lancashire and Barrow-in-Furness.

Charles Woodburn, CEO of BAE Systems, said: “As Britain’s largest defense company, we rely on the skills and ingenuity of those who deliver our programmes. That is why it is so crucial that we continue to invest in our people.

“With thousands of positions open for application across the length and breadth of the country and our exciting high-tech programs, there has never been a better time to start a new career with us.”

Global defense spending has increased in recent years and will reach a record high of $2.44 trillion in 2023, due to the escalation of the war in Ukraine and increased tensions between Western countries and China.

BAE Systems has subsequently experienced a huge surge in orders, reaching a record £74.1bn of inventory in the first half of 2024.

Last month, the FTSE 100 company had received around £25 billion worth of orders this year alone, including contracts to produce Bradley Fighting Vehicles and airborne radios for the US military.

For the full year, the company expects sales and underlying operating profit to increase by 12 to 14 percent, as well as free cash flow of £1.5 billion.

John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence, said BAE Systems “plays a vital role in keeping the men and women of our armed forces on the front line equipped.

‘Defence offers exciting careers, and this investment is a vote of confidence in Britain as a leader in breakthrough employment, creating highly skilled jobs across the UK.’

BAE Systems shares were 0.4 percent higher at 1,232 cents on Monday morning and have grown 121 percent over the past five years.

The group’s value took a £2 billion hit last Friday after Bank of America analysts downgraded BAE’s rating from ‘neutral’ to ‘underperform’ amid concerns that Elon Musk’s plans to Making US government more efficient could lead to cuts in military spending.

The United States is BAE’s largest market, accounting for 42 percent of total sales last year and nearly a third of its 100,000 employees.