The defence giants recruiting now for thousands of apprentices - including in Scotland

Babcock International, the defence giant behind Scottish dockyards at Rosyth and Faslane, is creating almost 1,500 new apprentice and graduate roles over the course of this year and next.

Following a record-breaking intake during 2024 of more than 400 apprentices, the firm will welcome a further 500 apprentices into the group through its recently launched recruitment programme. These early career hires will be further supplemented by 253 graduate roles in 2025, following on from the 285 graduates that joined up in September.

Babcock has also launched a new engineering pre-apprenticeship scheme near its Devonport site in Plymouth and its operations at HMNB Clyde, also known as Faslane. The initiative provides an additional, alternative route into Babcock, with those who successfully complete the year-long course guaranteed an interview for an apprenticeship the following year.

A Babcock International apprentice metal cutting.

Babcock chief executive David Lockwood said: “These 1,500 exciting, new early career roles will support the UK’s defence by providing the next generation of defence and engineering talent. This will be our largest ever combined intake and underlines Babcock’s commitment to invest in the skills that will significantly underpin the UK’s sovereign defence capability for decades to come.

“We look forward to welcoming the best and brightest recruits into our team and can promise them a career that makes a difference in the communities where they live, and a critical role in international defence.”

This year’s intake includes a range of key defence sector trades including welding and mechanical and electrical fitting, further bolstering the specialist engineering capability at the heart of the company.

It comes as BAE Systems projected a record number of young people in training in 2025. The company’s investment in education and skills is expected to top £1 billion since the start of the decade.

BAE is recruiting for more than 2,400 new apprentice, undergraduate and graduate roles in 2025, which will result in a record number of 6,500 in training, making up some 15 per cent of its UK workforce.

The group’s investments have enabled it to open its third multi-million pound skills academy, in Glasgow this year, which expands on its established academies in Barrow and Samlesbury.