A dozen UK-wide apprentices from BAE Systems, the UK’s leading defence, aerospace and security company, have today (30 October) been welcomed to the City of London by Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow and given a memorable tour of some of the Square Mile’s most iconic institutions.

Their “Day in the City” started by joining the Lord Mayor for breakfast at the Mansion House, before being given a tour of the historic insurance market, Lloyds of London, shown round the London Stock Exchange, offered lunch on HQS Wellington on the Thames and given the chance to open Tower Bridge.

The apprentices, all from BAE Systems Early Careers Programme in its Naval Ships business, were made up of eight from Glasgow, three from its New Malden and Frimley sites in Surrey and one from Portsmouth.

As well as offering up the opportunity for the apprentices to better understand how the City of London works, the Lord Mayor has a strong family background in naval engineering. His great-grandfather, Sir Alfred Yarrow, founded the Yarrow shipbuilders company in the 19^th century, before moving the business to the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow, where it became an employer of thousands in the region.

The Lord Mayor also visited Glasgow in April this year meeting representatives from Scotland’s financial and professional services industry, while he was also given a tour of the BAE Systems Shipyards in Glasgow.

Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow said:

“Apprentices are at the heart of our attempts to help create a stronger, more resilient economy and will be the highly-skilled workforce of tomorrow. It has been a pleasure to show these talented, young individuals round the Square Mile - not least because of my strong family connection to engineering, but I also hope it served a dual purpose opening their eyes as to how the world of finance works hand-in-hand with key sectors like manufacturing.”

Richard Hussey, HR Director, BAE Systems Naval Ships, said:

“Our apprentices are the future of our naval business and we understand the value in investing in young talent. Places on our high quality apprenticeships are greatly sought after and our programmes offer participants the chance to develop in so many ways. Visits like this demonstrate to apprentices how their skills and the prosperity of the UK economy are intrinsically linked. We proudly uphold the shipbuilding tradition and it is heartening to see Lord Mayor Yarrow’s interest in the talented people who will take that legacy forward.”

Notes to editors

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London

• The Lord Mayor is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).
• The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister.
• The Lord Mayor meets several international Heads of Government and Business each month to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.

See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for more details.

About BAE Systems

• BAE Systems invests £80.5M in skills and education programmes in the UK every year.
• On average 97 per cent of all apprentices complete their framework and gain full-time employment within the business.
• BAE Systems aims to have 2,000 apprentices in training by 2018.
• The Company is actively encouraging more women to apply for apprenticeship programmes to improve the gender balance of its apprenticeship populations. This year women accounted for 18 percent of apprentice places.
• BAE Systems’ apprenticeship scheme recently won Macro Employer of the Year at the London regional awards of the National Apprenticeship Awards.
• BAE Systems is a proud supporter of the Your Life Campaign, engaging with young people to excite them about fulfilling careers possible from studying STEM subjects.

See www.baesystems.com for more details.