MBDA | BUSINESS PROFILE
PEOPLE-INSPIRED INNOVATION
MBDA
www.mbda-systems.com
MBDA is the first truly integrated European defence company, with more than 90 armed forces customers worldwide. It was formed in 2001 by the merger of missile producers from Britain, France and Italy, and its 10,000 employees are spread across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, as well as the USA. Its British roots date back more than a century, and the company’s Stevenage site celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2014. Innovation is intrinsic to sustaining the
group’s position as a world-leader in missile systems, and the people who create these systems are often the unseen element. In 2014, a team of seeker engineers won the company its 10th Queen’s Award for Enterprise by developing an additional guidance mode for the Brimstone air-to-ground missile – this was faster and cheaper than procuring a new missile. A forward-thinking CBI member, the
company makes an effort to ensure that the talent pool is being mined for the next generation of engineers. It also tries to nurture and foster innovation among its employees. MBDA even holds its own multinational Innovation Awards, designed to recognise the best innovations within the business. The company also holds an annual initiative called Concept Visions that seeks to harness the imagination and innovation of
employees through the creation of inspirational, ambitious potential future missile systems. These are then unveiled every year at the major European air show of the summer.
VALUED TEAM MEMBERS One of the routes for developing the talent of the future lies in the firm’s award-winning apprenticeship scheme. It is a four-year programme offered to engineering and commercial apprentices, and structured around professional, personal and technical development. “We are one of the few businesses that
offer our apprentices a job from the outset,” says UK Director of Human Resources Aileen Randhawa. “Apprentices go directly on to our headcount, and they’re rotated through different parts of the businesses, whether that’s in engineering, manufacturing, or further into the operations and business sides.” The firm’s apprenticeship programme helps
to maintain the long-term skills and knowledge necessary to support the longevity of MBDA’s products. “Our products can have more than 40 years of in-service life,” says Randhawa, “and the programme is designed to ensure that anticipated skills gaps are addressed and filled.” Apprentices can also contribute to the air of innovation needed to harness
emerging technologies, sustaining the company’s competitive edge. The high-profile scheme has seen past
MBDA apprentices address party political conferences, meet with the Prime Minister and win 24 gold medals in National Skills Competitions over the past 20 years.
GENDER EQUALITY Another significant aspect of the scheme is its reflection of MBDA’s clear commitment to gender equality. With research by Demos suggesting that as few as 3 per cent of the UK’s engineering apprentices are women, MBDA has made it conditional that partner colleges put forward equal numbers of male and female candidates when participating in activities with the company. “We are seeing those numbers retained
right through the apprenticeship programme and then into the business,” says Randhawa. “As an engineering company, it’s been interesting to see that our award winners, irrespective of topic, tend to be women. Ultimately, whatever their gender, we have high expectations for our apprentices. Their contribution to the company is critical in ensuring we maintain the sovereign capability to develop UK missile systems.”
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