Sheffield Forgemasters has welcomed 18 new apprentices to its site for 2026, chosen from around 700 applications, as the business continues its £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme. The company announced the intake on 9 September 2026.
The apprentices join the Ministry of Defence owned company on fully funded training, working towards a professional qualification while being paid. Their disciplines include metallurgy, CNC programming, non-destructive testing, maintenance, project management, environmental work, steel melting, machining and dimensional inspection.
They start as the business expands with new plant, training and equipment to support its work on complex components for the UK defence programme, including the new SSN-AUKUS submarine, which will replace the Astute Class vessels.
About one in ten staff are apprentices
Laura Hooper, People and Culture Director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We have approximately 780 employees, ten percent of whom are apprentices at any one time, as we build the future workforce and continue developing our capabilities.”
She said the workforce was being trained for the technologies that recapitalisation will bring, to meet future demand in defence manufacturing and in areas such as civil nuclear.
The company is investing across its site, including a new 13,000 tonne forge line and building, and major machine tool replacements in a new 30,000m2 machining facility.
Sheffield Forgemasters designs and makes high integrity forgings and castings. Its markets include defence, marine, civil nuclear, steel processing, offshore, renewables, power generation and pressure vessels.
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