BAE Systems

Graduate jobs explained

There are generally around 200 graduate vacancies per year at BAE Systems. The majority of places are in its graduate development framework scheme. Up to 20 are hired into its higher-tier finance leader development and sigma leadership programmes; however, graduates on the main graduate development framework may be able to transfer onto the sigma scheme further down the line.

In 2011, the company was ranked 70 in the Guardian UK 300 and 30 in the Times top 100 graduate employers.

Graduate development framework

The two-year graduate development framework is the company's main entry scheme, and is designed to provide training for entry into various business and engineering roles. Graduates on this scheme typically undergo 4 6-month rotational placements in different areas of the business.

Business roles

• Commercial
• Human resources
• Procurement
• Project management
• Sales and marketing.

Engineering roles
These can be based in a number of different business divisions; some examples are detailed below.

• Electrical and electronic engineering – in surface ships, submarine solutions or mission systems
• Manufacturing and production (operations) – in surface ships or submarine solutions
• Manufacturing engineering – in electronic systems
• Mechanical and structures – in surface ships, mission systems or electronic systems
• Naval architecture – in surface ships or submarine solutions.
• Product safety – in mission systems or submarine solutions.
• Software engineering – in electronic systems.
• Systems engineering – in electronic systems, submarine solutions or mission systems

As well as the roles above, there are also some ‘unique’ roles available within the graduate development framework. These include the technical development framework for systems engineers (within the military air and information division), metallurgy engineering (within submarine solutions), and noise and vibration engineering (part of the noise and vibration engineering department – NAVED – within submarine solutions).

Finance leader development programme

This five-year scheme trains graduates for senior finance management positions such as financial accounting, financial reporting, management accounting and project accounting.

During the scheme, graduates will receive support towards achieving their Chartered Institute of Management Accountants qualification, and can expect to gain experience in a number of fields such as financial reporting and project accounting. After completing the qualification, graduates will take on a two-year senior accounting role.

Sigma leadership programme

This is a management fast-track scheme lasting three or more years which offers the option of either a business or engineering focus.

While all three schemes involve a range of different placements, the Sigma programme specifically encourages overseas placements as part of the training. On completing the programme, candidates are appointed to executive positions within the company.

Other roles and future career paths

Besides the graduate programmes, there are a huge number of business areas and positions available at BAE Systems, giving plenty of scope for developing a future career with the company. These include:

• Business support: administrators, facilities and property management, secretaries
• Engineering and design: airworthiness, optics, structural
• Finance and commercial: accountants, finance managers, treasury
• Manufacturing and operations: electricians, fitters, production, steelworkers
• Procurement and supply chain: supply chain analyst, buyer
• Quality and assurance: audit, quality management
• Sales, marketing and communications: business development, internal communications
• Other roles: air traffic, flight operations, instructor or trainer

Work experience explained

BAE Systems offers work experience through one-year industrial placements, which are available in three different business areas:

• Business placements include commercial, procurement, project management and sales and marketing roles, and are focused on supporting different aspects of project delivery.
• Engineering placements can be in various engineering areas such as electrical, manufacturing, mechanical, software and systems. Previous candidates have reported heavy involvement in project work and lots of responsibility from day one.
• Finance placements cover all financial aspects of a wide range of defence projects, and bring candidates into contact with some of BAE’s top financial experts.

Entry requirements

Business and finance placements:

• At least 280 UCAS points
• Predicted 2.1 degree in any discipline

Engineering placements:

• At least 220 UCAS points
• Predicted 2.1 degree in an engineering, numerate or scientific discipline

Benefits

Finance placements offer a salary of £17,000. Salaries for the Business and Engineering placements can vary, but the typical pay is between £14,000 and £18,000.

Taking part in the placements can even lead to a place on the relevant graduate programme, with successful Finance candidates receiving a £1,500 bursary payment for their final year of study.

Locations

There are a wide range of locations available for industrial placements, including:

• Barrow-in-Furness
• Chelmsford
• Farnborough
• Glasgow
• Leicester
• Newcastle
• Portsmouth
• Rochester
• Weymouth

Training and development

Graduates enrolled on all of BAE Systems’ graduate training programmes receive ongoing training throughout. This includes professional qualifications, business skills training and technical courses (as required). Sigma trainees will also get support for language training due to the global nature of the scheme.

Particular business groups also place a focus on higher education, and will support graduates through postgraduate qualifications. The submarine solutions group, for example, encourages graduates to study masters courses related to their field, which will allow them to progress to chartered engineer status.

Financial leadership training

Members of the financial leadership development programme (FLDP) will work towards gaining a Chartered Institution of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification during the first three years of the programme, and will then have at least 20 days’ allocated training each year for the remainder of the scheme.

BAE claims that its financial leadership graduates have a 95% success rate when sitting CIMA exams, and that the majority of candidates will be promoted to executive roles in as little as four to five years after joining the company.

Other professional qualifications

While the FLDP is the only programme in which accreditation by a professional body is mandatory, both the graduate development framework and Sigma leadership programme offer support for relevant professional qualifications where appropriate.

Some of the professional institutions graduates have the opportunity to join include:

• Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)
• Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
• Association of Project Management (APM)
• Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• Institute of Physics (IOP)
• Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)

Buddying and Mentoring

All graduates are assigned a buddy – someone currently undertaking the scheme – when they join one of the company’s graduate schemes, and will have the opportunity to become a buddy themselves on completion. A corporate mentor will also be allocated, to oversee the tailored induction process.

Ongoing training

BAE places a strong emphasis on continual employee development, and has introduced various initiatives to support this:

• ‘Developing You’ frameworks cover all employees within a particular business function, from graduate trainee to director. These outline all the key competencies, skills and knowledge required within each function, and provides a foundation for training programmes.
• Personal development reviews allow employees to meet with their managers at least twice each year to help identify areas for development and set out plans for meeting objectives within each role.
• Intelligent learning is an online learning portal offering over four hundred free electronic courses.
• Skills programmes encourage ongoing skills development training.

Employees are also encouraged to manage their career development and progression through a three-pronged development portfolio comprising personal, functional and learning and management. The latter includes the company’s ‘performance centred leadership framework’, which aims to support those wishing to pursue management positions or other promotions.