Glimpse behind scenes at BAE Systems for Be Inspired Business Award winners

The winners of one of Lancashire’s leading business awards have taken a behind-the-scenes look at the £15.6m training academy of one of the county’s leading companies.

The Be Inspired Business Awards, the BIBAs, winners toured the Academy for Skills and Knowledge run by BAE Systems at Samlesbury to see how the company trains hundreds of apprentices and provides lifelong learning to its 10,000-strong workforce.

It was part of the BIBAs Academy, a package of masterclass lectures, visits to leading firms and networking sessions which is open to the winners of the awards.

BAE Systems’ Academy for Skills and Knowledge principal Nigel Davies said: “At BAE Systems we are committed to ensuring our people have the skills we need for the future of our business, and supporting others to do the same.

“Our Academy represented the biggest single investment in skills in aerospace when it opened just over a year ago and since then we have delivered 250,000 training hours and welcomed almost 50,000 visitors, including more than 1,000 schoolchildren.

“I was delighted to welcome the winners of the BIBAs to come and learn about how we deliver training to our people every day of the week, and hopefully they will have picked up something which can support the growth of their businesses.”

BAE Systems is a sponsor of the BIBAs Foundation, a fund set up by the awards to create an enterprising culture among young people in Lancashire, and its Most Inspiring Young Person category.

Danny Houghton of Moore & Smalley, the joint sponsor of the BIBAs Academy with the University of Central Lancashire, said the programme would see the awards’ winners visit public transport body, Blackpool Transport, next month.

He said: “The BIBAs Academy programme is committed to providing the winners of the 2017 awards with unrivalled access to some of the leading lights in Lancashire’s business community.

“It aims to ensure that the best in the county get even better.”

The 2018 awards opened for applications earlier this month with 18 prizes up for grabs at the awards ceremony in September.

In 2017, the winners of the Business of the Year category, Burnley-based refrigerated vehicle specialist, CoolKit, also collected the Manufacturer of the Year award, while Preston-based Sunshine Events also winning two categories, Employer of the Year and Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility.

Fox Brothers, which is headquartered in Poulton-le-Fylde, was the winner of the Construction Business of the Year, with Blackburn non-profit making body, Community and Business Partners, winning the Third Sector of the Year category.

This year’s awards will be handed out at a glittering black tie ball at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

Almost 1,000 people regularly attend the annual event in the iconic ballroom.