BAE Systems (www.baesystems.com)— the British multinational defence, security and aerospace company — says its investment in skills and technology has increased year on year, leading to labour productivity rates of £128,000 per employee, which is almost 80% greater than the national average.

The company says this reflects the company’s highly skilled workforce, its long-term commitment to delivering advanced apprentice and graduate training programmes, and its investment in technology that “underpins and drives future concepts in product design and manufacturing”.

Key findings of the detailed analysis in the 2016 report The Contribution of BAE Systems to the UK Economy include the following facts: the company’s operations contributed £11.1 billion to the UK economy, equivalent to 0.6% of GDP and comprising direct, supply chain and workforce spending contributions; the company is a growing force in export markets, with earnings from sales abroad totalling £4.7 billion, equivalent to 0.9% of UK exports; and expenditure on goods and services with some 8,900 suppliers across the UK amounted to £4 billion, representing 79% of its total procurement.

Furthermore, BAE Systems says it supports nearly 130,400 full-time equivalent jobs in the UK, adding that almost two thirds of its staff are employed in engineering or engineering-related roles; and as of November 2017, it had more than 1,600 apprentices and just under 500 graduates in training.

Investment in R&D, including investment from the UK Ministry of Defence, amounted to £1 billion for the report period.

Company chairman Roger Carr said: “BAE Systems plays a critical role in ensuring the security and prosperity of the UK, and we prioritise investment in skills, capital and technology to support our continued growth in productivity and exports.

“We recognise our responsibility to support wider industry and the positive role we can play in addressing the UK’s productivity challenge.

“We are proud to work with the thousands of UK companies across our supply chain on some of the world’s most complex engineering programmes, and together we create skilled jobs, develop new technologies and play our part in driving prosperity in regions across the UK.”

Paul Everitt, chief executive of ADS (the trade organisation for companies in the UK aerospace, defence, security and space sectors), said: “Productivity is a national challenge, but this report shows that companies like BAE Systems, which invest in skills and technology, are making great strides forward.

“The UK defence sector has seen productivity rise by 23% since 2010, compared to 3% in the economy as a whole.

“With almost 9,000 companies in its supply chain right across the UK, the beneficial economic impact of BAE Systems’ success both at home and overseas is felt on a truly national scale.”