JAGUAR LAND ROVER WELCOMES RECORD INTAKE OF 600 GRADUATES AND APPRENTICES – THE TALENT OF THE FUTURE

Jaguar Land Rover's record intake of apprentices and graduates on their first day at the company. Pictured with Kenton Cool and Sarah Richards, Jaguar Land Rover Head of Learning and Development.

• Nearly 600 new graduates and apprentices begin their careers with Jaguar Land Rover
• The recruits are the first to start their training as part of the newly-formed Jaguar Land Rover Academy
• Business Secretary praises Jaguar Land Rover for backing the next generation of British talent
• Some 2,500 have joined tailored graduate and apprenticeship programmes in last five years
• Search for 2016 graduate and undergraduate intake launched this week

 Jaguar Land Rover has welcomed nearly 600 new graduates and apprentices to the business this week, the company’s highest intake to date.  Today the Government’s Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, met some of the company’s trainees and praised Jaguar Land Rover for backing the next generation of British talent.

Sajid Javid said: “It is great for Britain that we have got such a successful automotive industry and the graduates and apprentices joining Jaguar Land Rover this week will have an important role to play in building on that success in the future.  I congratulate the new intake on securing the opportunity to work at the heart of the renaissance of the British car industry.  Companies like Jaguar Land Rover are backing the next generation of British talent, helping people to build careers and boosting the country’s productivity.”

With some 2,500 employees having started their careers on Jaguar Land Rover’s graduate, advanced and higher apprentice programmes over the past five years, this year’s intake is the largest to date and more than 100 up on last year.    

Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer, met the new recruits on Monday.  He commented: “I am proud to welcome tomorrow’s engineers, technicians and innovators at the very beginning of their career with the company.  This is an exciting time to join our business.  We are investing significantly in the future of Jaguar Land Rover by creating very special vehicles for our discerning customers and, just as importantly by employing and developing the highly skilled people that will help ensure our continued success.”

The new graduates and apprentices are the first to start their training as part of the Jaguar Land Rover Academy, which was officially launched this week.  The new Academy will offer learning and development for employees at all stages of their working lives with the company, whether they are new recruits or more experienced employees seeking to move to the next level in the organisation. 

This “lifelong learning” will follow a structured plan, delivering training that is relevant to changing business requirements and enabling employees to progress their careers at Jaguar Land Rover.
The Business Secretary met the apprentices and graduates at a UK car industry event held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today, ahead of next week’s Frankfurt international motor show.  At Frankfurt, Jaguar Land Rover will be showcasing its British designed, engineered and produced vehicles.  As part of this, the company promises a dramatic reveal of the all-new Jaguar F-PACE, the brand’s first performance crossover.

The graduates and apprentices have begun their programmes with a joint formal induction week at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.  Designed to inspire participants, the induction has included motivational talks from Richard Noble, the former land speed record holder and Kenton Cool, one of the world’s leading high-altitude climbers.  Those attending have also had the chance to put questions to Dr Speth and other members of the company’s executive committee, familiarise themselves with the latest vehicles and have a glimpse at the future line-up.

Jaguar Land Rover’s undergraduate placement scheme is increasingly becoming a feeder for the graduate programme, with 85 of the 333 graduates joining this week previously having been on paid undergraduate placements with the company.

Similarly, the company’s Young Women In The Know course has led to an increase in the number of females taking up advanced and higher apprenticeships at Jaguar Land Rover.  14 of the girls who took the course last year are amongst the 46 new female apprentices.  The Young Women In The Know initiative, launched in August 2013 as part of Jaguar Land Rover’s wider education outreach, offers female students aged 15 – 18 a unique insight into engineering, technology and manufacturing careers.

Fourteen of the record intake of apprentices attended the Young Women In The Know course before applying to Jaguar Land Rover

Danella Bagnall, Vehicle Programme Director at Jaguar Land Rover is a great role model: "I started my career as an apprentice 26 years ago which was a great way of continuing education, developing skills, and getting into industry.  I am now an engineering director, which demonstrates the excellent career progression opportunities available to women in a modern engineering-led business like Jaguar Land Rover.  I would thoroughly recommend a career in engineering to girls."

To apply for the 2016 graduate programme or undergraduate work placements, students should go to www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.  Recruitment for the graduate and undergraduate programmes began this week and closes on 31^st December 2015. 

The recruitment window for advanced and higher apprenticeships opens on 5^th October 2015, with the deadline for apprentice applications also being 31^st December 2015.

CLASSIC ENDING TO JAGUAR HERITAGE CHALLENGE FINALE AS MIKE WILKINSON & JOHN BUSSELL WIN IN EX SIR JACKIE STEWART E-TYPE

Jaguar Heritage Challenge at Oulton Park

• Wilkinson and Bussell take chequered flag in ex Sir Jackie Stewart E-type

• Ben Cussons’ PUG 676 C-type, fresh from the 2015 Mille Miglia, sets fastest lap and wins Class C

• Commentators’ ‘Driver of the Day’ awarded to Jim Tester

• Competitive and entertaining race makes the fifth different race winner in as many races 

• Race fans treated to driving demonstration of Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9 LM

The pair of Mike Wilkinson and John Bussell ensured a classic ending end to the inaugural season of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge as they took the chequered flag driving their Jaguar E-type – formerly owned by Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart.

Wilkinson and Bussell began the race on the second row of the grid at the Oulton Park Gold Cup having qualified in fourth place on Saturday. Race 1 winner, and today’s pole-sitter Martin O’Connell, once again set the early race pace from the start, but both Wilkinson and Bussell demonstrated tremendous determination to keep pace with the leading pack.
It wasn’t until Lap 13 that the pair moved up into the lead as race leader O’Connell was forced to retire to the pits after an unfortunate mechanical failure.

From that point on they established a commanding lead in the eye-catching Red E-type ‘SSN 300’, but it so nearly didn’t go to plan as, on the last lap, driver John Bussell ran wide and went momentarily off the track. He recovered brilliantly and ended up crossing the line a minute-and-a-half ahead of second placed Peter Castaldini and the third-place pair of Robert Gate and Dave Coyne – both in race-prepared E-types.

The victory for Wilkinson and Bussell meant they became the firth different winner in as many close and entertaining races of the inaugural season of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge.

“Old Favourite” as the race-winning E-type SSN 300 was affectionately known, was the first race car Sir Jackie owned and originally started life as a customer demonstrator for the Stewart family’s car dealership in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. On the weekends though, a young Sir Jackie would race this exact E-type under an anonymous name to keep his involvement secret from his mother.

Another famous Jaguar taking to the track – and as it turned out taking class honours – was C-type ‘PUG 676’ – owned and raced by Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee Chairman, Ben Cussons.

Cussons took Class C honours at the Gold Cup this afternoon and also set the fastest lap in PUG 676, while finishing a very credible ninth overall. First registered in September 1952, PUG 676 has genuine racing pedigree. Dick Protheroe raced it extensively during the post-World-War II era before it was sold to its next owner, John Hallhan, who shipped it to Australia for restoration in 1966. Fans of the Mille Miglia will be familiar with this iconic car, which competed in the grueling 1000-mile rally in May of this year with Cussons at the wheel.

Lorraine Toolan, Global Head of Marketing for Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: “This has been a great season of Jaguar Heritage racing. The support from our drivers has been amazing, too. All of which gives us plenty to build on for the future.”

In addition to entertaining race fans in the Jaguar Heritage Challenge, Andy Wallace will treat spectators to a special driving demonstration in his 1988 Le Mans-winning XJR-9 LM. Wallace, who along with teammates Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammers, successfully piloted this historic endurance car to a famous win 27 years ago - famously ending Porsche’s seven-year winning streak.

Other class winners from the season finale were: Jim Tester in his XK120 (A1), Chris Keith- Lucas driving an XK150 (A), Andy Wallace in a Mk1 (B) and John Burton in his E-type (D). The Commentators’ Driver of the day was awarded to Jim Tester for finishing fourth overall in his XK120 after an inspired and determined drive.