Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, is driven by a desire to deliver class-leading Jaguars, Range Rovers and Land Rovers that provide experiences its growing customer base will love, for life. The company is succeeding by being a responsible, innovative and sustainable business. As part of this, Jaguar Land Rover has a long history of supporting the British military and continues to demonstrate this by meeting commitments made through its Armed Forces Covenant.

Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr Ralf Speth, recently summarised the company’s approach. When accepting the Ministry of Defence’s employer recognition scheme gold award for active support of the Armed Forces community he commented:

“We at Jaguar Land Rover are immensely proud to have signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant and to be recognised through this award.

“Service leavers are an excellent talent pool for Jaguar Land Rover and our supply chain, with skills that are transferable to an advanced manufacturing environment. We believe that there is a close alignment between our company’s own values and attitudes and the unstoppable persistence of Armed Forces veterans.”

Dr Speth was joined at the award ceremony Matthew Malley, one of the 200 former service personnel hired by the automotive manufacturer since 2013. Matthew, who served in the First Battalion Welsh Guards for 10 years as an infantryman, explained what the company’s approach means for him:

“I was wounded in action and subsequently medically discharged during my second operational tour in Afghanistan. I was then told my army career was over, which for me was my life. After a month-long specially-tailored work placement at Jaguar Land Rover, I got a job with their site services, where I fit right in. I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.”

Similarly, Staff Sergeant Wayne Walker, formerly of the Queen’s Royal Lancers, joined the Solihull manufacturing team as a Process Leader following completion of the company’s inaugural programme.

Wayne joined the training programme in December 2014 after being medically discharged from a 19 year military career, which saw him serve in operational tours of Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. It was in Iraq that he sustained a serious knee injury following the detonation of a vehicle born Improvised Explosive Device.

Speaking of this new chapter in his life, Wayne said: “I was put forward for this opportunity via The Armed Forces’ Motorsport Charity, Mission Motorsport, which supports those leaving the Forces. I wasn’t sure what would come out of it but I received incredible support throughout the programme from my family and everyone at Jaguar Land Rover. I was delighted that it led to a permanent position which means security for my family’s future and has been a great confidence boost. I hope this will inspire others also leaving the Forces.”

 

Jaguar Land Rover’s support for service leavers

The work placement programme, through which Matthew and Wayne found employment, is run by Jaguar Land Rover in conjunction with Mission Motorsport and the Ministry of Defence’s Career Transition Partnership (Assist) to help wounded, injured and sick former servicemen and women find a fulfilling second career.

It is just one of the company’s initiatives to boost employment for those leaving the Armed Forces. These include a training scheme to tackle high unemployment among early service leavers, offering sector-based training, work experience and job interview training.

The tailored programmes build on the company’s ongoing work with the Career Transition Partnership, through which Jaguar Land Rover employs veterans. Jaguar Land Rover goes even further, encouraging its supply chain to recruit service leavers and recommending candidates to its suppliers. The company also assists its reservists with paid leave for training and encourages an ex-Forces society, which this year coordinated Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day celebrations.

Raising awareness and developing understanding

Jaguar Land Rover was proud to be the presenting partner in 2014 for the inaugural Invictus Games, the international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. The company has pledged to support the games in this way again in 2016, as well as sponsor the UK team, to help develop understanding and respect amongst the public for those who serve their country. To be held in Florida from 8th to 12th May, the second Invictus Games will bring together more than 500 competitors from 15 nations and harness the power of sport to inspire recovery and support rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick service personnel.

Jaguar Land Rover’s backing for service charities includes Mission Motorsport, Help For Heroes, Rally for Heroes, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and individual regimental associations. In October, the company sponsored the Walking With the Wounded Walk of Britain to raise awareness and retraining of wounded veterans leaving the Armed Forces. This 1,000 mile walk included a stage from Jaguar Land Rover’s Design and Engineering Centre at Whitley, Coventry to its manufacturing facility in Solihull.

Working at Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguars, Range Rovers and Land Rovers are admired and desired across the world for luxurious design and outstanding engineering. Driving them is an incredible experience; being the ideas and expertise behind their creation is even more exhilarating.

 

Great people and great vehicles are the essence of this great British company, which has recently been rated by Bloomberg as the best UK employer for 2016. Jaguar Land Rover’s size, growth and culture mean that there are extensive development opportunities. Indeed, over the past five years the company has doubled sales, more than doubled employment and tripled its turnover.

Jaguar Land Rover is investing significantly in its future by creating very special vehicles for its customers and, just as importantly, by employing and developing the people that will help ensure its continued success.

 

Lifelong learning: the Jaguar Land Rover Academy

 

The company is committed to investing in skills and in 2015 launched its Academy, the first of its kind in the UK automotive sector. The new Academy offers all Jaguar Land Rover workers the opportunity to take part in continuous development programmes to enhance their careers and provide the skills the company needs.

 

  • First of its kind in the UK automotive sector, Jaguar Land Rover Academy will deliver a world class, highly skilled workforce
  • £100 million invested in technical and business skills last year, including supply chain skill development
  • “Lifelong Learning” career development programmes to be offered to the company’s entire global workforce of almost 38,000, from recruitment to retirement
  • Run in partnership with WMG at the University of Warwick and other leading universities
  • Last year 8,900 employees undertook academic and vocational qualifications ranging from NVQ2s to PhDs.

To find out more

The Career Transition Partnership can help with further information on:

  • Finding employment at Jaguar Land Rover
  • The company’s ‘Inspiring Tomorrow’s Workforce” training programme for early service leavers

Those who think they might be eligible for the company’s “Wounded, Injured and Sick” work placement programme can contact jlrafsc@jaguarlandrover.com to find out more.

Further information is also available at: http://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/