BAE Systems has opened the doors to its military aircraft sites in Lancashire to more than 130 local young people to give them a glimpse of working life.
The company’s annual ‘Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day’ is a global initiative designed to offer the children of BAE Systems’ employees the opportunity to find out more about their parents’ working lives. This year, more than 300 young people visited BAE Systems’ sites across the country.
Across Warton & Samlesbury sites, children listened to the exciting experiences of test pilot Peter Kosogorin, visited aircraft manufacturing hangars and spoke to employees from different business areas during a networking event. The event at Samlesbury was based at the new state-of-the-art Academy for Skills & Knowledge. A facility which BAE Systems has invested £15million to train apprentices as well as current and future employees.
This is the twelfth year BAE Systems has run the initiative, aimed primarily at Year 9 students, at its sites across the UK. The day aims to give young people an insight into the variety of exciting career options available in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.
Richard Hamer, Education & Skills Director at BAE Systems, said: “STEM subjects open up a wide range of exciting career options and we are committed to encouraging more young people to consider a career in STEM. As a company, we have great ambitions and a big part of that is ensuring we build a strong pipeline of future talent to continue the work we do. Events like today provide an opportunity for young people to understand more about our business and the work we do.”
BAE Systems invests around £90m each year in skills and education activities. It runs a number of initiatives and attends careers fairs across the country to highlight the importance of STEM subjects to young people. This includes the company’s annual Schools Roadshow in association with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, which in 2017, will visit over 420 schools and engage over 90,000 young people with an inspiring, interactive STEM presentation.
