THERE was a time when the excitement of watching the fruits of their labours literally take flight in the form of a Tornado jet was incentive enough for recruits to join the defence and aerospace company BAe Systems. But in recent years an altogether more serious motivation has begun to emerge. With the rise in international conflict and global terrorism, BAe Systems has found itself at the forefront of the War on Terror. And many within the company are proud of the supporting role they play.

“Of course we still get people with a passion for the products and who are excited by the chance to be involved in their manufacture,” says Louise Wallwork, a human resources director at BAe Systems. “But since September 11 people seem to have a much more emotional connection with helping to protect those who protect us. We are experiencing a definite shift in culture, with people joining the company to play their part in making the world a safer place.”

Given BAe’s history of dealing with some of the world’s more dubious military regimes (Indonesia, Turkey, Zimbab-we) many would balk at the claim that selling military equipment can ever make the world a safer place. However, the company takes the line that it is for the government, not the manufacturers, to decide where weapons may or may not be sold.

Recruitment at BAe Systems is responding to changes within the defence market. Emphasis has shifted from individual products towards the concept of “interoperability”, in which information can be transferred instantly between the frontline combatant and operational command. So while the design and manufacture of ships, aircraft, submarines, guided weapons and space systems still make up the bulk of BAe Systems’ business, the company is increasingly taking on software engineers and systems analysts to “make sure that one bit of kit can talk to another”.

“Although the core of our business is still engineering, we recruit in just about every skill area you can imagine,” Wallwork says.

In the UK about 400 graduates are taken on each year. Each enters a two-year graduate development framework. “This begins with an induction to help graduates make the transition from education into working for a large company,” Wallwork says. “The rest of the programme is tailored to individual needs and is a blend of on-the-job training and external learning. Each graduate is assigned a mentor from the senior leadership team.” Starting salaries for graduates range between £18,000 and £22,000 plus a £2,000 sign-up bonus. For Denise Bennett, a senior software engineer who has been at BAe Systems for ten years, one of the advantages of working with company is the variety. “You can work on so many projects, both civil and military, with time scales of anything from six months to several years,” she says. “Your personal choice is respected — some people work only on civil projects.”

Bennett enjoys working on aircraft software and has been involved in the Eurofighter/Typhoon, Boeing 777 and Gulfstream programmes. “Everyone can relate to what I do and I get to see my work in action.”

DATA FILE

• British Aerospace came into being in 1977 as a nationalised corporation formed by the merger of British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• BAe Systems was formed in November 1999 by the merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• BAe Systems employs 90,000 people in 130 countries. More than 10,000 employees are systems software engineers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Its order book last year totalled £46 billion. Sales amounted to more than £12,500 million.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The company’s Charity Challenge encourages employees to become involved in charitable activities. The July 2003 to December 2005 campaign is aiming to surpass the previous record of £5.7 million raised and 3,500 volunteer days world wide.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• BAe Systems was recently named Best Electrical and Electronics Plant and Best Factory for People Management in the Best Factory Awards, organised by Cranfield School of Management.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• BAe Systems has just won a $21.4 million (£11.5 million) contract to provide engineering and technical support to the US Navy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The company is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for alleged false accounting in connection with contracts in Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Opportunities at BAe Systems can be found at www.baesystems.com

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