BAE Systems Australia has welcomed 21 interns who will gain hands-on work experience over the summer holidays in a range of engineering and business management roles.
The students will spend the next 12 weeks undertaking paid work and gaining experience which may lead them to future careers in the engineering sector.
This year, more than 1,000 third year university students applied for the roles.
Four of the roles will be filled by Career Trackers interns, a national non‑profit organisation supporting the long‑term career aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students. BAE Systems Australia entered into a long-term partnership with Career Trackers last year.
“It’s really important for students to have meaningful work experience ahead of making decisions about their future careers,” BAE Systems Chief Executive Gabby Costigan said. “Advancing the next generation of employees within our business is an important element of our strategy.
In 2020, BAE Systems Australia employ around 200 graduates in training in the business.
BAE Systems Australia CTO Brad Yelland recently revealed the extent of the workforce challenge his company is facing.
“BAE Systems Australia is 200 engineers short of what we need. But in the next three years, we will need an additional 1500 engineers,” Yelland said.
“Let’s be optimistic and say that half of [eligible graduates] actually want to work in defence industry,” he said. “We’re now down to around 4000 engineers. BAE Systems Australia needs a third of those, so I don’t know what the rest of you are going to do.”