It's take off time for the hi-tech careers of the future at BAE Systems

For hundreds of Lancashire young people looking to launch their careers, Friday is take off day. BAE Systems, the county's biggest hi-tech employer, is then launching the search for the next generation of apprentices. The firm which employs more than 9,000 at Samlesbury and Warton is to open its apprentice application window on November 1 and will follow it up with a series of open events for people to go along and see what might be in store for the lucky 250 taken on next September. And those thinking that it will be all about nuts and bolts, grease and lathes and no place for women, could not be more wrong. In today's hi-tech era, while there is a place for those bread and butter hand and crafting skills, there is a dazzling new world of business studies, software, new manufacturing techniques, cyber security, robotics and design to choose from.