BAE Systems launches Return-to-Work programme for engineers

BAE Systems is launching a new returners programme in Scotland aimed at helping engineers and STEM professionals get back into the industry after a career break, in partnership with diversity initiative STEM Returners.

According to the company, the 12-week paid placement scheme will be based in Glasgow and is designed to reintroduce experienced individuals into engineering roles, with seven positions available within BAE’s Naval Ships division.

Participants will receive mentoring and career coaching, with the aim of facilitating a permanent return to the sector.

The initiative comes amid a push to address recruitment bias and improve diversity within engineering, which industry leaders say continues to disadvantage candidates with gaps in their CVs. Research from STEM Returners found that more than half of respondents (51%) cited a lack of recent experience as a barrier to re-entering the profession, while 26% of women reported experiencing gender bias during recruitment.

Natalie Desty, Director of STEM Returners, said: “Engineers who have a career break on their CV are often overlooked for roles due to recruitment bias, but they have the skills, dedication and passion to make a valuable contribution to any company.”

She added: “Only by partnering with industry leaders like BAE will we make vital changes in STEM recruitment practices, to help those who are finding it challenging to return to the sector and improve diversity and inclusion.”

This new programme follows several previous successful collaborations between BAE Systems and STEM Returners, which have seen nearly 100 professionals placed into engineering roles across the UK since 2017. It also marks the fifth such programme hosted in Scotland.

Stuart Justice, Engineering Director at BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships, said: “We are really keen to work with STEM Returners again and welcome back skilled people to the industry. We need qualified engineers now more than ever and have a growing order book for the Global Combat Ship, meaning there is exciting, long-term work available for people to develop their career.”

One success story is Jack Dyer, a Detail Designer who joined BAE Systems after struggling to find his first engineering job despite holding HNDs in Engineering Systems and Draughting & Design. He described the opportunity as life-changing, saying: “The opportunity with STEM Returners has allowed me to finally work within an engineering discipline, on incredible military projects.”

While the programme aims to address a general shortage of engineering talent, it also serves to widen participation in a field that has long struggled with diversity. STEM Returners reports that 46% of its candidate base are women—compared to just 10.9% of professional engineers in the UK—and 40% are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The scheme’s backers hope that targeted initiatives like this one will not only return experienced professionals to critical roles but also help shift longstanding cultural barriers within the defence and engineering sectors.