The Jesuits were well known for their saying, ‘Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man’. An interesting approach to social engineering which probably mirrors much of the recent

development in UK social policy, so it’s perhaps not surprising to see BAE are now taking a similar tack.

BAE is now trying to reach children as young as nine and to interest them in science and engineering as a way of helping solve their shortage of skilled staff. According to spokesman, Richard Harmer, it is at age nine that boys start becoming interested in careers and even younger for girls. BAE plans to use its engineers, graduate trainees and apprentices in drama productions for schools as well as using examples of its own tech programmes to create interest in science and engineering.

Known as the ‘soldiers of Christ’, the Society of Jesus, whom we refer to as Jesuits, have had a long traditional of involvement in education. Given BAE’s business is manufacturing some of the instruments of war, it’s hard not to see a parallel between the educational ideas of the Jesuits and BAE’s new education strategy.

www.baesystems.com