February at Leonardo was a celebration of future talent, inclusive innovation and transformative engineering. From our apprenticeships to Inclusion & Diversity initiatives, the month showcased how our people and programmes are shaping the future of defence and aerospace.
National Apprenticeship Week 2025, followed in March by Scottish Apprenticeship Week, provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the vital contributions apprenticeships make to our UK business. Leonardo remains committed to investing in the next generation, with over 500 apprentices and graduates in training nationwide. Throughout the week, past and present apprentices shared their stories, why they chose this career path and what they have achieved thanks to the opportunities provided.
This included two of our degree apprentices – Ben Riley and Uzair Afzal – who are playing a key role in Leonardo’s work advancing the UK Ministry of Defence’s Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System Technology Demonstrator Programme, Proteus. Based in Yeovil, they are involved in aspects from aircraft design and fatigue analysis to creating a 3D-printed wind tunnel model that cuts cost and lead times while enabling rapid design updates. Their contributions show how future skills and fresh perspectives are driving Leonardo’s competitiveness and shaping the next generation of aerospace innovation.
Continuing the focus on Proteus and our leadership in aerospace innovation, Nigel Colman, incoming UK MD of Leonardo Helicopters, spoke at the International Military Helicopter Conference about the future crewed and autonomous aviation. He highlighted the evolving role of rotorcraft in modern warfare and the importance of integrating autonomy and crewed-uncrewed teaming, as exemplified by the Proteus programme.
As part of a series of diversity-related activities during February, Lila Rose, a Lead Data Scientist, emphasised the importance of gender diversity in STEM as both an economic and ethical imperative. Despite progress, women remain underrepresented in defence and data science. Leonardo continues to address this through programmes like STEM Returners and Springboard, and partnerships with Women in Defence and the Women’s Engineering Society. Internally, our Equalise network supports gender equality and career development, while initiatives like the Future Leaders programme inspire the next generation of women in STEM.
Race Equality Week (3-9 February) happened to coincide with first Ascend cohort successfully completing its six-month programme. The joint mentoring initiative between Leonardo and the Royal Air Force (RAF) Ethnicity Minority Network pairs RAF mentees with mentors from Leonardo’s Armed Forces Network to share experiences and support career development. The scheme focuses on leadership, skills enhancement and breaking down barriers, with feedback highlighting the value of diverse perspectives and collaborative learning. Looking ahead, Leonardo and the RAF plan to expand Ascend to reach more participants and broaden access beyond the military community.
Returning to our support of the RAF, Channel 4 aired the second series of Top Guns: Inside the RAF, which offered a behind-the-scenes look at Typhoon pilots, weapons technicians and the teamwork behind operations. Later episodes profiled members of the Typhoon Display Team based at RAF Coningsby who Leonardo was once again proud to sponsor during 2025.
We also expanded our aptitude-based testing approach to support internal mobility, partnering with WithYouWithMe (WYWM) to identify untapped talent. We also shared the results of our WYWM Operations-to-Software Engineering Programme which empowers operational staff to pursue engineering careers, with aptitude tests identifying learning potential. The success of this programme saw it feature as a finalist in the British Diversity Awards while Leonardo’s ongoing commitment to inclusive career development saw use recognised by WYWM in November with an Impact Award.