Developing our Young Talent is Mission Critical

Our Early Careers programme dates back decades. As an organisation we’ve been a strategic partner to the UK for nearly 80 years, and since our very early presence in the country, people and skills have been fundamental to our strategy. And not just from a HR perspective, but from a business standpoint too. This is not just something that we are committed to here in the UK, but it’s something that’s runs in the DNA of our entire corporation. Lockheed Martin invests hugely in developing tomorrow talent pipeline, ensuring we have the skills, leaders and subject matter experts to support our customer’s missions – today and tomorrow.

Listening is key. The conversations have to be open and honest to make sure we’re getting it right. We need to be prepared to pivot as a business and adjust in a timely way. What was a good career progression plan model 3 to 5 years ago maybe just doesn’t work anymore. The skills set our business requires is changing to reflect the mission of our customers, so there’s just so much constant change that needs to be addressed – for me it’s about getting the best out of things for both the business and individuals.

Lockheed Martin goes beyond engineering. As well as the many exciting STEM focused careers such as engineer, scientist, technician, metallurgist and even a career in space, there are a number of functional careers too, such as Finance, Communications, HR, and Programme Management, Business Development and Supply Chain.

Our Early Careers Programme has 4 routes:

• Graduate Programme
• Placement Student Programme
• Apprenticeships
• Work Experience

 

It may sound like a bit of a bit of a cliché, but I always say to those that have just joined us, or looking to become part of the Lockheed Martin family, that it’s more than just a job. I have been with the organisation for 14 years, my career journey has been fulfilling and continues to strive and grow. But I think what really keeps people with us (as well as the excellent benefits, package and rewards programme) is our workplace culture, employee well-being focus, and a 4 day-week.

From a personal perspective, making sure that as a business we are striking that ‘workplace balance’ is really important. I want people to have a positive experience when they’re at work. Somewhere they can be themselves, have a voice, feel comfortable, be confident, flourish and grow. This all is so important – I cannot stress enough how incredibly critical it is to make sure your workplace culture encourages and empowers employees to bring their very best selves to work every day. And for our business, we are investing significantly in this.

We’re signed up to the 5% Club Charter, making a commitment that 5% of our UK workforce will be young people on structured training programmes. And in 2021 we were voted as the top company to work for by graduates and apprentices.

I’m really excited as I look at our current cohort of Early Careers and what our trajectory for intakes looks like over the next few years

This year we recruited 55 Early Careers (including graduates, placement students and apprentices) across our UK business, and our 2023 projection is set to see an even bigger pool of talent come through our doors.

We start our recruitment process for Early Careers around February, so I would urge those looking for opportunities to visit our careers page to find out more about the opportunities for next year.

If you’ve found a role you like the look of and want to apply for it, take a quick look at some of the advice in the graphic below – these are some of the things that could help you stand out from others.