GlaxoSmithKline announces new apprenticeship and trainee opportunities

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it will be making new apprentice and graduate engineering opportunities available in the UK over the next two years.

The company will be recruiting 140 new apprentices – around one-third of which will be in engineering – representing a 27 percent increase in its annual intake of apprentices since 2012/13.

Plans to increase its number of engineering graduate trainees by 26 – an increase of 25 per cent since 2012/13 – were also announced during Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, while it has previously been confirmed that the firm will be participating in the government's Apprentice Trailblazers scheme.

All of the engineering apprenticeships offered by GlaxoSmithKline provide the opportunity for school or college students to work towards a university degree.

Roger Connor, president of global manufacturing and supply at GlaxoSmithKline, said: "We need to ensure we keep pace as manufacturing technologies evolve – encouraging the next generation of engineers is vital to help us do that."

The company is one of the world's largest and most prominent pharmaceutical firms, with a manufacturing network that spans 87 sites worldwide.