College helps Telford manufacturer with recruitment campaign

Telford College has been helping Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) to recruit new staff by hosting skills assessment sessions.

The defence and engineering company is designing and manufacturing the next generation of military vehicles for the British Army at its factory in Telford.

Manufacturing has now officially started on the British Army’s Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicles (MIV) at the Telford site. In May 2021, RBSL was also awarded an £800 million contract to upgrade 148 Challenger 3 Main Battle Tanks.

Representatives from RBSL hosted an event at Telford College’s engineering centre to help put potential new recruits through their paces and talk to them about the different career opportunities available.

A total of 39 applicants completed their assessment, with the support of Telford College and a team of apprentices. From that group, 15 were invited to the final stage, which is face-to-face interviews.

The assessment focused on three key elements – a short presentation on the MIV programme and nature of the job, a written literacy test, and a mechanical aptitude practical assessment.

George Heeks, Telford College’s learner manager for engineering and aviation, said: “The assessment was for potential employees to work on RBSL’s new assembly line for the mechanised infantry vehicles.

“The Boxer is the first to be built at the company’s Hadley Castle Works site since Warrior started manufacture there in 1986, and is a result of the joint venture between BAE Systems and German-based Rheinmetall.

“The venture will also see the production of the new Challenger 3 on the same site, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to get involved in some top-level manufacturing work, right here in Telford.” 

RBSL has invested £40 million in its 29-acre site, transforming it into a world-class manufacturing facility so that the business can deliver next generation military vehicles and essential in-service support. It currently employs a workforce of 690, with this figure set to grow to around 800 by the end of 2023.

The company said: “We are very pleased that we were given an opportunity to work closely with Telford College on designing and conducting mechanical aptitude assessment for our MIV Boxer production role.

“We hope to continue our co-operation and assessing more candidates in the near future.

“We were provided with very professional technical support and guidance from Telford College staff which helped us to deliver this significantly important for us project.”