AROUND 60 apprentices are being recruited in East Lancashire by BAE Systems as part of its biggest intake in five years.

The defence giant has announced plans to rec-ruit a total of 387 engineering and business apprentices across the UK this year, with 60 at its sites at Samlesbury and Warton.

Around 20 business management apprentices and 40 engineering apprentices will join the two Lancashire sites.

The 40 engineering apprentices will be split between craft and tech-nician trades in their first year of training.

One in 10 of the new recruits will join the five-year higher apprentice programme which combines on-the-job training with degree-level qualifications, free from tuition fees.

Group managing director Nigel Whitehead said: “Our continued commitment to the apprentice programme reflects the sustainable position of our UK business and the success of the programme in generating BAE Systems’ workforce of the future.

“We like to train people from an early age and find that the combination of on-the-job training and academic study without debt, is a great motivator for our apprentices to stay with us. We look forward to welcoming our new intake in September.”

Around 144 apprentices will join the submarine-building business at Barrow-in-Furness with a further 105 at the company’s shipbuilding and naval support sites in Portsmouth and Glasgow.

The Rochester-based Electronics Systems business in Kent is recruiting 12 young people and 10 young people will join the firm's cyber security business BAE Systems Detica in Leeds.

Four apprentices will be taken on at the munitions-production business and the BAE Systems’ Regional Aircraft at Prestwick in Scotland is recruiting three young people.

The apprentices join 35,000 BAE employees.