Employment in Scotland’s shipbuilding industry is experiencing a significant uptick, with naval work now directly employing over 7,000 people and providing more than 1,000 apprenticeships.
Recent data and statements from industry leaders underscore the sector’s growing contribution to job creation and skills development, reflecting a positive trend in Scotland’s maritime manufacturing.
In the earlier part of the decade, the industry supported 6,000 direct jobs, a figure that has since evolved to approximately 7,250 direct jobs. This change in employment levels is indicative of the industry’s response to strategic investments in capacity and capability enhancement.
Babcock currently have more than 180 apprentices and 3,500 people employed in Scotland, with these numbers only set to grow in the coming years with 1,000 new apprenticeships. In addition to this, Babcock has invested £35 million in a new digitally enabled build hall at its Rosyth facility, with the Venturer Building capable of housing two Type 31s frigates side by side for parallel build and assembly.
BAE Systems in Glasgow currently has 3,750 employees and around 600 apprentices and graduates in Glasgow. In 2024, they are set to recruit almost 2,700 apprentices and graduates across the UK, with 300 based in Glasgow. In addition, construction has begun on a new £12m Applied Shipbuilding Academy at BAE Systems’ Scotstoun shipyard, which will develop the existing workforce and attract new talent to the historic profession of shipbuilding.
Additionally, construction of a modern shipbuilding hall in Govan is underway and, together with a range of additional investments in technologies and equipment, it forms part of an overall £300m investment in the two sites in Glasgow over the next five years.
David Lockwood CEO, Babcock said:
“We were delighted to host the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge MP, at our Rosyth site ahead of Scottish Apprenticeship week.
Apprenticeships play a really important role in workforces across the UK, ensuring we can sustain the technical skills needed to continue to deliver critical national defence programmes, while offering exciting opportunities with direct benefits to local communities.”
Simon Lister, Managing Director of Naval Ships at BAE Systems said:
“We have a proud tradition of equipping our apprentices with the skills and training needed to develop long and rewarding careers. They are the next generation of shipbuilders that will design and build ships for the Royal Navy for decades to come.
Training a world-class workforce requires world-class facilities. That’s why, as well as our new Ship Build Hall, we are building our new Applied Shipbuilding Academy here in Glasgow, working closely with our regional partners to build sector skills.”
Never quite sure why we are focusing so much work in Scotland?
Well it was to keep them happy, but there’s no point in moving the yards now.
We don’t focus work anywhere, BAE chose where the yards would be and it kept open its most efficient ones. Then Babcock beat Camel Laird for the T31 competition. Can you tell me why we focus so much aircraft production in England or has that never crossed your mind?
No not really BAe didn’t have much say HMG did and they used the T45 class to force more mergers (BAe with VT became BVT and then even more Letter spaghetti). SH had mucked up the last T23s and Bays were the final straw, it was all gone in a puff of incompetence, stupidity and poor QC so effectively that was the end of Large surface SB in England. BAe Barrow were supposed to assemble the T45 in the Devonshire Hall from blocks built elsewhere, but Astute nobbled that idea and Barrow is now sub surface only. So T45 was… Read more »
Because successive governments and unions have destroyed British shipbuilding so there is nowhere else of any size and capability.
Yes, Scotland had the largest mass of ship building left in the UK. Primarily due to North Sea oil.
It’s not really focused all in scotland..Belfast is just about to become the centre for large military hull assembly, with appledore in Devon making most of the modules for the big ships and our submarines are all built in Barrow….so a good spread actually.
Plus BAe have subbed a sixth of the steel work for T26 4 onwards to CL and AP on Tyneside. Anyone would think MOD may be accelerating the schedule of payments a bit 🥴
BW did say the T26 program would be accelerated as much as possible…..
Have you read George’s bit on X about his visit to Scotstoun ? My eyebrows went up when I read about where they are with T26 no3 and 4 and bringing CL and AP to do steel work. My mind went Mmm then realised that 1 to 3 are very hard to accelerate but if you are using extra capacity then that means 4 to 6 can be (especially in the new hall).
I haven’t I don’t really use Twitter/X….
That’s a very good point. It will be interesting to see how quickly the later boats get launched.
Just the geography and tradition of heavy industry and culture? The Clyde estuary ( like the Lagan) is/ was an ideal place to launch big warships / liners.
Well on another post (see the T32 one) Donald of Tokyo reckons the cost of a “Good” Engineer is £25 to £30K per year of which 50% was their Salary.
I suggested he should move 😂
My bad!
It’s already corrected.
Laugh and World Laughs with you 😉
I think we are probably now at a sweet spot for ship production, well we will be as soon as the upgrade work at the harland and Wolff yard in Northern Ireland is finished.. Three decent sized surface military ship builders and one sub surface each with modern upgraded facilities is about right for the RN and RFA…and should see easy recapitalisation in the 2030s and 40s.. the capacity to launch about one escort every 18 months is about what’s needed as really the navy will need to stabilise at the higher twenties in escorts in total ( the present… Read more »
We could do with an uplift for sub-surface tbh, although increasing the available space in the existing yard would likely suffice if it is possible do do so.
You’re probably correct…they really need to shift the next build of the SSN up to more than 10…present numbers are woeful.
You can have 10 now all we’d need are the crews that’s where future problems will arise recruitment and retention of personnel and cuts haven’t helped the issue
Indeed but the new boats and any increase in numbers are a good couple of decades away, so in reality crewing is not a problem as long as you have a good integration staffing model up and ready for he 2030s….
staffing is used as an issue….but it’s only really a “now” issue not a future issue..unless you make it one with piss poor people planning and penny pinching.
If you can’t retain then training of future recruits will fall in quality, experience is always required things you cannot learn from a text book BRs the Navy has too be consistent you don’t get a medal for coming second
No you can’t have 10 right now, it’s impossible due to the technology the Astutes use no longer being manufactured. We have moved on to the next generation PWR3 and there is no possibility of going back. That option died about 12 years ago when “call me Dave” didn’t order the long lead items for Astute no 8 and work on the Dreadnoughts got going. The future number of SSNs will be determined by 2 factors :- The unit cost per boat, and that will all be tied up in the numbers of SSN(A) RAN want and just how much… Read more »
I placed 10 as the number from the previous post and just put that too emphasis the point of if you can’t get the personnel then have as many numbers you want that was the gist of my post
Bob what do you think all the building work up at Barrow and here in Derby is all for ? We need to be able to build more boats and large parts of boats and quicker than we can at present.
Well the 4th T26 is having a sixth of the steel work done by CL and AP on Tyneside, so it’s looking up !
Are we?
Does it make sense to have plate lines all over the country? I very much doubt it.
These plate lines cannot possibly all be state of the art ones.
So I’d say must of this is about doing the works where workers can be employed – some don’t want to move elsewhere….
I blame these work from home welders. How can that work?
So BBC Scotland has reported that the Calmac ferry Glen Rosa has been launched
New CalMac ferry successfully launches into River Clyde
A long-awaited CalMac ferry has been launched at Ferguson’s shipyard in Port Glasgow. Crowds cheered as the 3,000-tonne vessel successfully left the slipway, making it the heaviest vessel to have been launched from the Clyde yard. The MV Glen Rosa is the second of two delayed ferries being built by the nationalised shipyard.
if you pop over to twitter and type in Glen Rosa, there’s some cracking videos of her launch.
OMG what negative anti Scotland comments So for all you delusional little Brexit Englander’s here sum most simple facts and basic Arithmetic for you But let’s stick to commercial ship building Because if we were to concentrate on Naval matters the following would prove to be far worse 1959 UK launched 59 % of all global shipping The vast majority from Scottish yards Today only 0.0004 % of global total Meanwhile China in 2023 launched 38 million BTW Tonnes that’s 3.16 million BTW / month UK 2024 so far 2548 BTW Tonnes that’s 2.4 BTW / Month Do even go… Read more »
Oh, you’re back.
Your English has much improved, I must congratulate you especially given your Gaelic upbringing.
Other than that, I quite agree with what you are saying.
He’s still Chinese though.
Ssh…
Humour him.
Thanks for basically agreeing Any who seriously digests the info imparted can but only conclude That indeed we are now the Modern Day ‘ Coolies ‘ after all you invented such nomenclature I can give you many more facts That shall only reinforce of what I speak E.G . Go compare the RN Type 45 Destroyer with China’s Type 055 Especially their latest 05 upgrade If you do so then your not gonna like What you see Ditto for actual operational time %,s For UK carriers in comparison to China’s Ditto for The Pentagon report upon How did a Chinese… Read more »
…that only reinforce that of which I speak.
It would judging by your reply that the only thing in need of reinforcing
Is The Modus Operandi of your thought process
Poor syntax and grammar detract from the points you are trying to make. Some readers just think it’s a ramble. 🙂
I care not as to how I use English
Tis a weasel language designed by Weasels for purpose of being a Weasel
English has a very large vocabulary and is able to convey subtle meanings. Weasel is apparently derived from
Middle English and later German, and takes its meaning from the supposed cunningness of the weasel. Have to say I have never considered the English to be a cunning race.
Sorry do you have a point or is it just a ramble
Oh how the deluded and ugly hate to gaze upon their reflection in the mirror Especially when the awfully truth stares them in the face I am not Chinese but have studied their long long History, culture and belief systems So once more How many wars has the UK been involved in the last hundred years one way or another And then deduct how many were actually defensive Now repeat for China Once more you shall have to take a wee look upon the mirror No matter what none of you can respond with any proper irrefutable Facts from reliable… Read more »
So let me get this straight? You are blaming current UK residents for actions carried out 8 generations ago?
So if your great great great grandfather raped and killed someone does that mean his sentence is given to you?
Your entire rambling rant contains no facts and as far as I can see no comments that are relevant
Re 8 generations ago well then fact And as defined by Evolutionary Genetics for Homo Sapiens a generation is defined as 20 yrs Therefore applying such science You go back 160 yrs My oh My Afghanistan, Iraq 2 , Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, Bloody Sunday , Boer war when the 1 st Concentration camp built on and on the list goes England has a track record of destroying documents as Edward 1 and Cromwell destroyed between them 98 % of written Scottish historical records Along with the well known fact that as soon as it became obvious that a… Read more »
And while we at it British troops dispatched to put down a rebellion in my Grandfathers home in Ireland As was normal practice they destroyed all the Birth, Marriage and Death records that were held only by The RC Churches When I told my Father I was going to do some genealogical research When we visited the small Farmhouse he born in His reply ” A Feecking total waste of time because The Brits burned the records and you won’t get any farther back than my Birth Certificate and your Grandparents marriage certificates Such made it all rather simple to… Read more »
Right so by your twisted ideas I can claim from Sweden France and Denmark for crimes committed against Britain in history?
Stop putting rabid rubbish on the comments section. I can promise you no one is interested. I can’t even work out what your trying to say. Can tell English isn’t your main language
You then have my sympathies
Looks good for the future and yet; I am concerned. Both yards will have no hulls to build from about 2030-32 . So all the investment into build halls, apprenticies and a skilled work force could be in trouble. Babcock needs to have orders placed by about 2027-28 for either Batch II T31 or the T32, whilst BAE would need to have the orders for the T83 by 2032/33, ideally 2030. If the T83 order is not ready then possibly a further three T26s using the new tech of the T83 if possible as proof of concept ships. However, this… Read more »
I think the way war and tech is changing and its speed by then what we should be ordering will be quite different to what we think.
Yep.
You’ll still need naval fundamentals. Something that floats or goes underwater that provides a platform for sensors, effectors and connectors and optionally decision makers. It will need to provide power, propulsion, control and steering. You’ll still need to build hulls. And I’ll wager all this will be true for at least the next 50 years. So while the fit out might change, and the ability to house drones and other sub-platforms might change, and crewing requirements might change, building a large flexible platform right now will not be wasted effort. We keep writing off older tech in our heads when… Read more »
Ordering hull and fit separately is prob good idea. Otherwise by the time they roll off the line they are outdated
I would say that this is, in part, due to the National Shipbuilding Strategy run by John Parker. He said that the government (all kinds from tenders and tugs to frigates) need x ships in y years so we should give longer term contracts with a degree of certainty. Allowing companies to invest in equipment and apprentices, which is now happening.