BAE reveal £100m plan to secure Glasgow shipyard on the River Clyde for decades

BAE Systems is preparing to build a huge new shipbuilding hall to allow it to fully construct ships indoors.

Currently, the yard has the order for three type 26 frigates and is hopeful five more will follow.

HMS Glasgow is nearing build completion and is due to leave the yard by the end of the year to be fitted out at Scotstoun.

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HMS Cardiff is currently being built in stages and HMS Belfast will be the third type 26 to be built.

BAE is working to secure the contract from the Ministry of Defence to build another five type 26 frigates.

To deliver that, and other work, the firm is investing in the site and in the skills of the workforce, now and in the future.

The Glasgow Times was given access to the yard to see the progress on the ships and to hear how the firm plans to secure shipbuilding on the site in the 2030s and beyond.

The investment for the  Govan yard is focused around a new assembly facility measuring 175meteres by 85metres and much taller than the current buildings on the site.

Nadia Savage, Business Operations director, said: “There is a clear heritage in Glasgow. It’s now our turn to secure the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde.

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“The investment is aimed at improving deliverability.

“The team here deserves the investment for the next decade and beyond.

“Frankly, we need to stop building outside.”

The plan is to fill in the wet basin to the west of the ship hall in the yard and create a new ship assembly hall that will dwarf the current buildings on the site and be capable of building two ships at the same time.

It has been described as taking shipbuilding on the Clyde from the 1950s to the 2050s

Ms Savage explained: “In the future, we will fabricate in the hall then move the blocks to the new facility.”

The importance of the contracts to Govan and the Glasgow yard’s role in the wider BAE shipbuilding business can be seen in their recruitment strategy.

BAE will be recruiting between 1000 and 1200 staff across the UK maritime sector this year.

Of the total, 400 will be based at Govan.

At present, 4000 staff are employed on the type 26 programme and 3500 are at Govan.

BAE is also recruiting 200 apprentices next year.

Previously with the nature of shipbuilding with yards upscaling to deliver a contract and then downsizing, there was always the risk of a skills exodus, as workers followed the work wherever in the world it was available.

This could leave locations with a shortage of the necessary skillsets to deliver major contracts.

The investment in a skills academy is aimed at preventing this

The investment plan has been characterized as a ‘bricks and clicks’ strategy.

Ms Savage said: “In the past shipbuilding has gone through a boom and lull cycle. That has had an impact on the availability of skills.

“The applied academy is about everyone in the business. We need to deliver better and faster than in the past. From the shop floor to the boardroom.”

The training will cover the full range of skills and available technology to improve delivery including using artificial intelligence, data analysis, and supply chain management.

Ms Savage added: “This is an industry collaboration.”

While BAE is exploring other opportunities with the UK and other governments it is not looking at commercial shipbuilding.

The work on the new hall is already starting and planning applications are being submitted.

BAE did not go into detail about what would happen to the investment plan should it fail to win the contract for the further five Type 26 frigates.

Simon Lister, Managing Director, said if BAE is awarded the contract: “The five ships will definitely be built here on the Clyde.”

He added: “We are also looking at other opportunities.”