While the number of apprenticeship starts is expected to plummet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the UK’s leading apprentice employers has said the training scheme is “critical” to its skills needs and it is pressing ahead with the recruitment of a record number of new starts. 

British multinational defence, security and aerospace company BAE Systems has this year recruited more apprenticeships than ever before after receiving more than 9,000 applications. 

From September, it will welcome 800 apprentices, using a phased approach that will result in cohorts being brought into the company in September, October, January and May. The total intake represents just a 2 per cent drop from the 820 that were predicted pre-Covid, and an increase of 11 per cent from 2019. 

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Richard Hamer, education director at BAE Systems, told Tes that the company remained committed and passionate about apprenticeships.

He said: “There is that requirement there and there is the confidence in the business that we need to do it. We’ve got the flexibility and the creativity internally and also through our providers to continue training in a safe way.

“Apprenticeships are critical to our skills needs and an apprenticeship is a great vehicle to give people really relevant skills and competency to do the job.”

The company’s apprenticeship recruitment comes against a backdrop of a significant drop in starts across England during the first few weeks of the coronavirus lockdown. The Association of Education and Learning Providers (AELP) has repeatedly warned of the potential collapse of apprenticeships, and continues to push for financial support for all apprenticeship providers. 

How attractive is an apprenticeship?

Mr Hamer told Tes that he was worried about how attractive apprenticeships were to school leavers during this crisis. 

He said: “It is something that I am worried about. I am worried about the supply chain. We have got a strong brand and I think in places like Barrow and Preston, mums and dads in our communities, despite all the negative messaging around apprenticeships and redundancies, will still see a role in BAE systems as a really good opportunity. When you finish a college course or degree, you’ve still got to get a job, so why not get a job now with an employer with a long-term future?”

Mr Hamer said that BAE, like others, will have to see how things change, especially when it comes to government spending on defence. But, despite that uncertainty, he said that he was confident that the company would continue to have 2,000 apprenticeships on roll at any one time over the next three or four years. 

The apprenticeship guarantee 

Mr Hamer said that apprenticeships were absolutely critical to the skills needs of BAE systems - and that they were crucial in supporting the whole country in economic recovery. 

“An apprenticeship is a great vehicle to give people really relevant skills and competency to do the job,” he said. “Apprenticeships are up-to-date, very current, they provide really good technical knowledge and practical ability to do the job, as well all of the behaviours and the cultural side that you need in the workplace. Whether it’s a big company or small company, apprenticeships are a fantastic investment. 

“We all have concerns about the apprenticeship brand and I think the Department for Education is keen to do something in the autumn to make the case of why apprenticeships are still as important and as relevant and a good opportunity as ever before.”

While no plans have been announced by the government, earlier this month prime minister Boris Johnson said that young people should have an “apprenticeship guarantee” to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

How my apprenticeship has changed during lockdown

My name is Alice, I’m 21 years-old and I’m in my third year of a degree apprenticeship in chartered management at BAE Systems and Central Lancashire University.  

It’s been a massive change to working full-time in the office to now working full-time from home, but the way the business has responded to introducing working from home straight away was amazing. Everyone has still been delivering all the activities we would have been doing in the office.

Obviously, I do miss the face-to-face interaction from the office, but I have such an amazing support network through the programme that offers all sorts of avenues to speak to people. We have our line managers and skills coaches, who are just a brilliant group of people: they are on a level where they understand the difficulty between working and doing a university degree at the same time. With all university work also moving online, it’s been a massive change. There’s been a lot to learn from lockdown.

I would 100 per cent still recommend doing an apprenticeship - it’s one of the best things I’ve done through everything I’ve learned in the last few years, from the development for myself. It’s completely changed the type of person I am and pushed me to the limits. It’s taught me to look for opportunities, for challenges that if I hadn’t had done this I would have shied away from thinking I couldn’t take them on. The company supports you to be able to do things like that. 

I’d tell anyone who is considering an apprenticeship to definitely, definitely do it. 

Alice McGurrell is a third-year chartered management apprentice at BAE Systems