BAE Systems has partnered with Cranfield University to boost Britain’s engineering skills through a new postgraduate engineering apprenticeship programme, which will provide learners with a valuable Masters-level qualification.
The first cohort of 76 engineers from BAE Systems will begin the academic element of their level 7 apprenticeship programme on 8 January 2018.
The engineers will be undertaking modules including design-driven innovation, operations management and cost engineering.
The modules will be carried out alongside the graduate engineers’ day-to-day roles within the business.
Teaching will be delivered entirely online, through a combination of interactive video sessions with Cranfield’s academics and remote online learning platforms, to provide the graduate engineers with the flexibility to study and acquire a Masters-level qualification without taking time out from work.
On successful completion, the apprentices will obtain a Post-Graduate Diploma in Engineering Competence – a key step towards reaching Chartered Engineering (CEng) accreditation.
Further expansion of apprenticeship schemes
Already one of the largest recruiters of apprentices in the UK, BAE Systems has further expanded its wide range of apprenticeship schemes by offering this new programme to post-graduates across the business, as the company seeks to attract talent from the widest cross section of society.
Further to the post-graduate apprentices, the defence company recruited just under 600 apprentices across its wider apprenticeships schemes in 2017 and reported record numbers of both female apprentices and apprentices with disabilities – making up 27% and 15% of recruits respectively. In addition, 18% of recruits came from the most socially deprived areas of the UK.
Those interested in applying for an apprenticeship at BAE Systems this year can choose from approximately 650 apprenticeship training places, including 120 at post-graduate level, which are now open to applicants.
This supports BAE Systems’ contribution to the 2018 Year of Engineering, in which the company is joining forces with government and industry to give thousands of young people direct experience of engineering to help tackle the skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
To find out more about BAE Systems’ apprenticeship programmes, click here.
