Babcock - Nuclear sector

Babcock’s Nuclear Sector is proud to support University of the West of England, Bristol, taking part in this year’s IMechE Formula Student competition at Silverstone this week. At Formula Student, university teams are tasked with designing, building and racing a single seater racing car from scratch. As AI partner, our focus is on mentoring and developing how students can develop crucial engineering, project management and business skills to bridge the technical skills gap. Engineer, Andrew Geddes, who took part in Formula Student whilst studying Mechanical Engineering at UWE is back supporting the event as a design judge. “It is exciting to see the next generation of engineers honing their skills and gaining new ones at Formula Student. Participating in the competition formed part of who I am today. I’m delighted to be able to support the competition this year as a judge and see how the teams have approached the challenge.”

Today is International Women in Engineering Day and an opportunity to shine a light on our female engineers who are at the forefront of helping to deliver our critical programmes. We caught up with Veronica, our Devonport based Chief Welding Engineer, who explains why she loves her role. #INWED24

Brilliant morning launching #PlymouthArmedForcesDay, at HMS Drake, with the Lord Mayor, Babcock International Group as title sponsors and military representatives. Marking 100 days until we celebrate on Plymouth Hoe #ArmedForces #saluteourforces https://lnkd.in/eQXVHCrN

It’s a busy time at our Devonport facility and last week was no exception, with two political visits taking place to highlight the critical work we deliver in our mission to create a safe and secure world. Simon Fell, Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness and Co-Chair of the All Party Group on AUKUS, joined Devonport’s Managing Director, Paul Watson, and Business Planning Director, Brendan Staniforth, for a tour of the key operational sites at Devonport. The complex upgrades to Devonport’s infrastructure will ensure that the site is able to welcome Royal Navy platforms of the future and ensure that critical services and assets are readily available. This is vital in supporting the new ‘Ship Submersible Nuclear AUKUS‘ (SSN-A) submarines, which will replace the Astute Class from the late 2030s. These will primarily be built in Barrow-in-Furness and after entering service, it will be over to our teams at Devonport to maintain, repair and refuel them. Our colleagues were also delighted to host Luke Pollard, Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces and Member of Parliament for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport. The purpose of Luke’s visit was primarily based on the Jackal Programme - our collaboration with Devon-based Supacat, to deliver High Mobility Transporters (HMT 400 series) to the MOD for the British Army. During his visit Luke met Babcock colleagues working on the Jackal programme, saw our production facility and also received a brief presentation on the HMT Jackal 3 programme and learned about its positive impact across the South West. Our collaboration with Supacat supports the British Army’s Land Industrial Strategy by securing critical industrial skills and capabilities and enhancing social value, including the creation of new jobs.

We were delighted to welcome Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes back to our Devonport facility, along with her fellow panto cast members. Dame Kelly starred in this year’s Goldilocks and the Three bears at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal and couldn’t resist a look around decommissioned submarine HMS Courageous, on her return to the city. She previously visited us in Devonport last year, for an event where she gave a talk, sharing her experiences of life in the armed forces as well as her Olympic successes. HMS Courageous is a Churchill-class nuclear fleet submarine, which was in service with the Royal Navy from 1971 and is now a museum ship managed by the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre. Dame Kelly Holmes

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In the spirit of giving and spreading some festive joy, colleagues at our Devonport facility have captured the true meaning of Christmas, with several ‘Be Kind’ initiatives to make a difference to people in need in the local community. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered or donated, you really have demonstrated our 'Be Kind' principle and made a difference to someone's Christmas this year. Take a look below to see what our people have been up to.

Our Naval Nuclear Logistics department at Devonport have been recognised for their continued efforts to empower employees and improve development programmes, having successfully achieved Advanced Recognition, against standards set through the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). The team collaborated with CILT (UK) to develop the Capability Recognition programme and became the first organisation to achieve Enhanced Capability Recognition, in 2020. Since then, the team have continued to develop their expertise, and are now only the second organisation nationally, to achieve Advanced Capability Recognition. To achieve Advanced Capability, the Logistics team at Devonport evidenced a number of capabilities to achieve Advanced Recognition, such as a continuous improvement ethos, as well as creating development programmes, that improve technical skills and core workplace competencies. Dave Tytherleigh, Director Supply Chain and Logistics at Devonport said: “The achievement of Advanced Capability is a huge testament to the ongoing work and effort from the Logistics team and will help support future contract delivery. Well done and thank you to everyone involved in this fantastic achievement.”

We’ve been trialling a prototype Electric Assisted Vehicle (EAV) at our Devonport facility. It’s proved successful, with the four-wheeled cargo bike able to get to locations quicker and is more efficient when compared with a diesel van. Whilst the current EAV on site is borrowed, a more permanent vehicle has been bought and will arrive in Spring 2024. The site owned EAV will have modifications to ensure its fit for purpose for the specific needs of the site. Watch out for more news on this!

Apprentices based at our Devonport facility have been celebrating at our annual Apprentice Awards Evening held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Plymouth. As part of their early careers journey, more than 50 of our people were formally commended for their achievements with gaining new qualifications. Justin Leigh, former BBC Spotlight presenter, hosted the event where a variety of trades, including electrical, mechanical and fabrication, were presented with certificates from Paul Watson, Babcock’s Managing Director at Devonport. Harry Holt, Chief Executive Nuclear, was also on hand to present trophies to the deserving winners of the prestigious Apprentice of the Year categories. Join us in congratulating every one of the apprentices, who have shown hard work and determination in completing their training programmes. Feeling inspired? Find out more about our apprenticeship opportunities: https://lnkd.in/e-AQfucG