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SECURING THE FUTURE OF UK TECH WITH BAE SYSTEMS
To defend nations from advanced threats, BAE Systems needs sharp minds and fresh perspectives. That’s why BAE Systems partnered with Code First Girls over four years ago to attract, train and retain more women in cybersecurity and engineering roles.
As part of BAE Systems, Digital Intelligence & Land is a fast-paced hub within BAE Systems, home to 6,000 experts across 13 countries, with advanced cyber, digital and manufacturing capabilities that are dedicated to keeping vital infrastructure running, national security protected and armed forces prepared. By partnering with us, BAE Systems successfully trained and offered permanent roles to 70 talented female technologists and this year alone, will welcome 25 candidates into their team.
Key success outcomes from the partnership:
- Unlocking Female Tech Talent: Educated and hired high-potential female coders, with a focus on career switchers, neurodiverse candidates, and non-technical backgrounds.
- Precision Role Matching: Placed candidates directly into critical full-time roles across Software Development, DevOps, Infrastructure, and Platform Engineering based on technical skills and long-term ambition.
- End-to-End Pipeline Creation: Built a sustainable talent funnel over four years – sponsoring free introductory Python classes and providing advanced CFGdegree training in Full-Stack, Software, and Data Engineering.
70
Women offered roles at BAE Systems
780+
Sponsored learning opportunities for women
76%
Of 2026 CFGdegree students are career switchers
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The Challenge
We spoke with BAE Systems to find out what talent challenges they were experiencing before partnering with Code First Girls.
Attracting people who have the correct balance of knowledge, experience and pragmatism.
Retaining people within space and defence roles by empowering employees with career growth opportunities.
Improving gender representation, with a goal of women making up more than 30% of the UK workforce by 2030.
The Solution
1.BUILDING ROBUST DEFENCES IN CYBER
Defending national security requires true breadth of perspectives, and complex cyber threats demand fresh, innovative problem-solving. By partnering with Code First Girls, BAE Systems connects with a thriving community of talented female coders, bringing together individuals with varied experiences, backgrounds and ways of thinking help strengthen innovation and problem-solving across the organisation.
This year’s cohort is a testament to that impact. An incredible 76% are career switchers equipped with transferable skills from industries like business, humanities, and education. On top of that, 62% were the first in their family to attend university, and over half represent underrepresented ethnicities – proving that varied life experiences build the strongest tech defences.
2. Fuelling long-term career growth
At Code First Girls, we help our partners showcase the exciting, long-term career growth available to the next generation of coders by #REPRESENTING the women role models at our partner organisations. Our work in spotlighting tech role models will ensure continued growth in the space, defence and security industry, which requires over 100,000 new skilled workers in space and over 400,000 new skilled workers in defence by 2030.
3. Expanding access to security-cleared talent
Not only do Code First Girls provide candidates with the best technical aptitude for roles, but we also include an extra layer in our recruitment process. We can intelligently sift and match applicants against security clearance protocols, ensuring our talent is best placed to protect our nation.
The Results
We spoke with Simon Puncher, Engineering Lead, to hear more about how we impacted the BAE Systems teams’ experience of hiring talent from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.
Consistent pipeline of female tech talent
Through a continuous four-year partnership, BAE Systems has established a dependable talent engine that directly supports their commitment to achieving 30% female representation in the UK by 2030.
Attracting the right talent for BAE Systems
At Code First Girls, not only did we consider security and regional requirements, but we also asked candidates their reasons for wanting to join BAE Systems and reviewed live video interviews hearing about their passion for tech careers. Through this process of combining our data with interview answers we are able to source women who are incentivised and empowered by long-term opportunities for growth at BAE Systems.
Some of our favourite answers from this process included one applicant who commented that “what really made me want to work for their company was my role model, Sophie Harker” whilst another applicant said it was “programmes like their Futures teams and their Using Tech for Good programme” which captured their interest.
Creating opportunities, strengthening outcomes
Security clearance means we can’t mention any specifics on what our graduates are up to at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence… but we can confidently confirm that they’re driving innovation and tackling key areas of the business! Our placed candidates are already making a difference with their technical aptitude and ability to approach cybersecurity needs with out-of-the-box ideas.
Why Choose Code First Girls
Companies around the world trust Code First Girls to provide:
- Practical, high-impact training – We give women the coding and data skills they need to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact.
- Access to diverse talent – We connect companies with candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, bringing fresh ideas and new ways of thinking to your teams.
- A supportive community – Our network of peers, mentors, and alumni gives women ongoing encouragement, while our CFG-led technical coaching ensures candidates continue to thrive once in role.
- Programmes built for business outcomes – We align training with your goals, creating inclusive, resilient teams that drive innovation and results.
Why not find out for yourself? Speak to our experts here. 👇
