Does the region have the right engineering skills for JLR?
Jun 18 2008 Jaguar Land Rover’s huge recruitment drive is a major shot in the arm for the automotive sector. But does the region now have the skill base to meet the company’s needs, asks John Cranage, Automotive Correspondent. Jaguar Land Rover said last night it was looking to recruit hundreds of qualified automotive engineers as part of an ambitious programme to develop a new generation of cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars. While the announcement is undoubtedly a major boost for the West Midlands’ manufacturing sector, the country’s well-publicised shortage of skilled workers raises the question of whether a flagship carmaker may have to recruit some of the engineers it needs from abroad. It is thought that about 400 of the 600 jobs that JLR aims to create will be for development engineers at its R&D centres at Whitley in Coventry and at Gaydon in Warwickshire.
