Jaguar Land Rover has put aside concerns about its future operations in the post-Brexit world by welcoming almost 500 new graduates and apprentices into the business.
Fears raised by chief executive Ralf Speth about the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs from the automotive supply chain in the event of a No Deal Brexit were forgotten as the automaker opted instead to focus on the future.
It said that working across all areas of the business, the newcomers would play a vital role in shaping the autonomous, connected, electrified future of Britain’s biggest car maker.
In a significant development, more than 20% of this year’s intake are female, a figure which JLR said demonstrated its commitment to attracting more women to the company and the broader automotive sector.
Ian Harnett, Executive Director, Human Resources, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “It’s crucial that we encourage more young people, both men and women, to consider the automotive industry as an exciting career choice. Our graduate, undergraduate and apprenticeship programmes secure our future pipeline of engineering talent and the delivery of innovative new Jaguar Land Rover technologies.”
Almost 300 new graduates will undertake a two-year programme designed to give broad experience of the Jaguar Land Rover business as well as structured personal and professional development.
More than a third of this year’s intake have previously taken part in the company’s undergraduate scheme while at university.
Earlier this summer, the company welcomed 370 new undergraduates for year-long placements.
Jaguar Land Rover has also welcomed nearly 200 new apprentices to its range of apprenticeship programmes, which combine learning and on-the-job experience.
The four-year advanced apprenticeship is focussed on skilled trades such as mechatronics maintenance and the six-year degree apprenticeship is designed to fill a range of engineering roles where skills are currently scarce, such as software engineering, design and development specialists.
Jaguar Land Rover has an industry-leading completion rate with 90% of all apprentices finishing their programme, compared to a national average of 67%.
The company has also opened its 2019 graduate, undergraduate or apprenticeship programmes, and to find out more, visit the careers website: www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.
Applications close on December 31, 2018.