Babcock welcomes almost 500 apprentices and graduates

Courtesy Babcock

The 480 new-starts, at sites including Bristol, Rosyth, Devonport, HMNB Clyde and Donnington, will work across a number of projects and areas, including technology, advanced manufacturing and submarine delivery. In addition, Babcock has taken on 50 undergraduates so far this year.

At HMNB Clyde, which Babcock operates on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, 20 new apprentices recently started their careers at Babcock – an increase on last year’s 10 apprentices.
Meanwhile at Devonport, 125 apprentices are fulfilling positions including Welder, Fabricator and Support Engineer – up from 60 apprentices in 2018.

During their time at Babcock, apprentices will study at local colleges to obtain the fundamental qualifications for a variety of specialist technology and engineering disciplines.

At Babcock’s Rosyth site, 10 new apprentices are taking on roles from Design Technicians to Mechanical and Electrical Fitters, whilst the six graduates specialise in Advanced Manufacturing, Electrical Engineering and Business Operations.

Kaz Addison, Apprentice Electrical Fitter, is among the new talent at the Fife facility. The former Royal Marine said he was “really excited to have started a new career at Babcock”.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Kirkcaldy, is following in the footsteps of his dad, Mike, who also started as a Babcock apprentice and worked at the Rosyth site as an Engineer and then a Draughtsman until retiring at the age of 62.

Kaz, a former Queen Anne High School pupil, added: “It’s great to be at the same site where my dad – and granddad – worked for Babcock.

“It’s quite hard to start again with a new career when you’re older and have kids and a mortgage but I feel like Babcock has given me the opportunity to do so by also taking on older graduates and apprentices like myself.”

Meanwhile, 16 new apprentices and 11 graduates have joined the Bristol team, as the business continues to develop the next generation of its South West base.

Spaces on both the apprentice and graduate schemes are highly sought-after.

Jonathan Whitworth, Babcock’s Organisation and Development Director, said: “I’d like to welcome our new cohort of talent to our sites across the UK, who I’m sure all have a bright future ahead of them.

“Employee development remains an important focus for Babcock, which includes supporting the development of future talent through our apprentice and graduate programmes.”