Flagship Training Extends, Expands Royal Navy Contract

BAE Systems and VT Group’s 50/50 joint venture Flagship Training has enhanced its contract with the UK Royal Navy, extending its contract that has Flagship Training designing, planning and assisting with the delivery and assessment of a range of training courses. The extension expands the scope of training delivery and adds another 21 months to the agreement, stretching it to 2013 subject to performance. As part of the new contract, Flagship will deliver 900 naval and maritime training courses at naval training establishments throughout the south, from HMS Collingwood in Fareham to HMS Raleigh in Cornwall.

Flagship’s relationship with the Royal Navy began in 1996, and recent months have seen a flurry of activity. A training facility is being built at HMS Collingwood, Fareham to house the Navy’s Maritime Composite Training System (MCTS) that will train operators for the Navy’s new ships. In addition, the revised training agreement will involve transferring some 350 roles, mainly instructors and training support staff, directly to Flagship, and a major recruitment campaign has been launched for instructors and training support staff in areas from warfare to fire fighting, engineering and communications. This new addition to Flagship’s role represents the largest transfer of naval training to the private sector to date, and the firm estimates that it represents an additional GBP 120 million (currently about $235 million) in revenues over the next 5 years. VT Group release | Flagship Training release.