Blackpool and The Fylde College partners with BAE Systems to educate engineers

Blackpool and The Fylde College has been appointed by BAE Systems to supply its specialist Higher Apprenticeship in Engineering, education and training.

The deal means B&FC will provide bespoke higher education programmes to a select group of high performing students, hand-picked for the course by BAE Systems for their academic excellence, technical aptitude and communication skills.

The students will stay on programme for up to five years and complete a Higher Apprenticeship, consisting of a Level 4 NVQ and Foundation Degree, leading to a BEng (Hons) in Aerospace Engineering.

The Engineering team at the college are now developing a custom set of modules and programme delivery methods which will utilise specialist hardware and software.

The first cohort of students will begin their training in September 2015, with much of the college-based delivery taking place at its new Advanced Technology Centre – an industry leading facility supporting local labour growth in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors.

Andy Bloor, head of early careers at BAE Systems Military Air and Information, said: “The Higher Apprenticeship in project management which we run together with Blackpool and The Fylde College has been hugely successful and we hope the engineering equivalent will follow this success.

“At BAE Systems, we have a pedigree of investing in our future by developing our next generation of engineers and this is another example of this commitment.”