We welcomed in the new year by telling the story of Leonardo’s youngest ever applicant, Rosie, from Somerset. Although she was slightly too young to enrol as an apprentice at only eight years old, we were delighted to invite Rosie for a tour of the Helicopter facility at our Yeovil site, giving her the chance to see her favourite helicopter, the AW101, on the production line. 2020 was to be a big year for the AW101; the helicopter was deployed by the Italian Air Force to transport patients from the start of the Covid19 pandemic, and began operating as the ‘SAR Queen’ in Norway in September to support Search and Rescue missions. At home, the UK Ministry of Defence’s fleet of AW101 Merlin helicopters supported daily flying task commitments, while our AW159 Wildcat supported the British Army by flying government officials and senior NHS staff to Nightingale hospitals and as part of the UK’s response to the pandemic.

Rosie’s enquiry about an apprenticeship came at a time when many others were thinking about their future and applying for our 2020 early career roles. We’ve successfully welcomed another fantastic group of graduates, apprentices and placement students throughout the year and we’re immensely proud of all they have achieved so far, having joined at a time of uncertainty. Leonardo is a proud member of the 5% Club, a campaign focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices and graduates into the UK workforce. Testament to the quality of our training schemes is the early demand for our 2021 early career positions, which is even higher than 2020. If you would like to find out more about our vacancies, or how to apply, click here, but act fast as places are limited and filling up quickly!