Babcock welcomes over 800 apprentices and graduates
Defence company Babcock has welcomed more than 800 apprentices, graduates and undergraduates across its UK operations, in one of the largest early careers intakes in the engineering sector this year. The 2026 cohort was announced during Tomorrow's Engineers Week and Scottish Careers Week, which run from 9 to 13 November.
The new recruits will work across Babcock's land, sea, air, cyber and space programmes, supporting some of the UK's most important defence and national security work. The intake reflects how defence engineering is changing, combining traditional trades with digital and technology-focused roles.
Heritage trades and digital skills
The cohort includes apprentices and graduates starting careers in welding, electrical and mechanical engineering, fabrication and manufacturing, alongside software engineering, data analytics, cyber security and digital engineering. Technology is also transforming the traditional trades, with employees increasingly using scanning and modelling software, additive manufacturing and 3D printing.
Group chief executive Harry Holt said apprentices and graduates were at the heart of the company's future success, adding that every role had a vital part to play, from highly skilled tradespeople building and maintaining critical platforms to software engineers, cyber specialists and data analysts.
Skills study and national recognition
The recruitment drive follows Babcock's Engineering the Future of Defence skills study, developed with the University of Oxford's SKOPE research centre, which looks at how the UK can build the engineering workforce needed for future defence capability, including expertise in artificial intelligence, cyber security and autonomous systems.
Babcock has also climbed from 29th to 12th place in the Department for Education's Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings, and secured a place in the top 20 of The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2026. Its new Devonport Skills Centre was formally opened by Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard on 23 October.
