THE Scottish Government has awarded BAE Systems more than £9 million in funding towards a training and skills academy to help create 300 jobs.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced the funding during a visit to BAE Systems’ Applied Shipbuilding Academy on Thursday, which provides training to help grow a skilled workforce across Scotland.
The funding is part of a project to modernise shipyards on the Clyde, which the Scottish Government said will help create around 300 new jobs and secure “over a thousand more”.
Forbes said the £9.2m investment will go towards developing the next generation of skilled professionals by offering high-quality apprenticeship programmes.
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.”
The Applied Shipbuilding Academy, which will receive the funding, 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 for Scotland and the Clyde Maritime Industry Forum to share knowledge in advanced manufacturing across the Scottish maritime sector.
Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Naval Ships business Simon Lister said: “We welcome the additional funding from Scottish Enterprise that will help secure shipbuilding in Glasgow for generations to come.
“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 BAE Systems for more than 10 years in a bid to “encourage” investment in its Govan and Scotstoun shipyards.
Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie added that the funding will help reduce the time it takes to build ships on the Clyde.
He 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.”
