BAE Systems funding provides 300 jobs boost for Scottish shipyards

Defence giant BAE Systems has been awarded more than £9 million of taxpayer funding to support a training and skills academy on the Clyde.

The Scottish Enterprise backing will form part of a project to modernise the company’s Clydeside shipyards, creating some 300 new jobs and securing around 1,000 more. It is part of a wider £300m investment by BAE Systems, which includes a new shipbuilding facility and the adoption of pioneering manufacturing technologies to improve productivity.

Simon Lister, managing director of BAE’s naval ships business, said: “We welcome the additional funding from Scottish Enterprise that will help secure shipbuilding in Glasgow for generations to come.

BAE Systems has yards at Govan and Scotstoun.

“The funding supports our ambition to attract and retain the workforce of the future, providing people with the necessary skills to work in a highly specialised industry. This will also provide ongoing value and significant contribution to the Scottish economy.”

Scottish Enterprise has worked with the firm for more than ten years to encourage investment in its Govan and Scotstoun shipyards.

The Applied Shipbuilding Academy collaborates with schools, colleges and universities, suppliers, customers and local authorities to provide training and skills development across Scotland. It also partners with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Clyde Maritime Industry Forum to share knowledge in advanced manufacturing across the Scottish maritime sector.

Scottish Enterprise (SE) chief executive Adrian Gillespie said: “This significant strategic capital investment by BAE Systems in cutting-edge technologies and its commitment to helping upskill the shipbuilding industry and the broader maritime sector is exactly the kind of ambitious, transformative project we want to support through our mission-based approach to growing and strengthening Scotland’s economy.

“Not only will the project create hundreds of highly skilled jobs and protect many more, but it will also establish some of the most advanced and productive manufacturing facilities in the UK, helping to reduce the time it takes to build ships on the Clyde and open the door to global export opportunities.”

The SE funding includes a research and development grant of £7.4m and a training aid grant of £1.8m to maximise skills as well as providing a collegiate training facility, offering access to the broader industry via the academy.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced the funding during a visit to BAE’s shipbuilding academy.

She said: “BAE Systems’ investment, supported by Scottish Enterprise, will radically transform shipbuilding on the Clyde - bringing state-of-the-art, globally competitive training and skills facilities, creating up to 300 new jobs and contributing wider economic benefits to Scotland.

“Projects like this will shape Scotland’s future workforce, developing the next generation of skilled professionals and supporting high-quality apprenticeship programmes.

“I am confident that this funding will help to secure the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde,” she added.

The academy in Glasgow is one of three dedicated BAE Systems training facilities, providing bespoke learning for just under 50,000 of the group’s employees across the UK.

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