February

4

Defence Giant gives Apprentice a boost!

Defence giant, BAE Systems, has given National Apprenticeship Week a boost by announcing plans to hire 40 youngsters in Hampshire and train them as engineers to work on designing and building warships.

Alan Johnston, MD, a former apprentice himself, said “Our apprentices are an integral part of our business. Our investment in their skills helps us to develop the continuous pool of engineering talent that we need to keep growing and innovating. In return, anyone joining our scheme can look forward to an exciting career helping to design, manufacture and support the most advanced warships in the world.”

The week has also seen Rob Douglas, new boss of regional development agency, SEEDA, swap his suit for overalls and go back to the floor, working alongside youngsters from Southampton City College’s Maritime Technology Centre and visiting ship repair yard, Solent Refit, in Hythe. “I’ve really been getting my hands dirty. It’s exciting working with young apprentices and seeing what they are doing” he said. “The best education you can get is a combination of learning in the workplace backed up by academic work and that’s exactly what apprenticeships do. Nationally, there are 270,000 apprenticeships starting this year and we have 34,000 in the South East. That means we must have about 80,000 in total, which is good figure for the south!”

Source: Hampshire Chronicle, Thursday 4^th February 2010