Tag: Apprenticeship

Body Engineering, Culture and Values, Diversity & Inclusion, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, Featured, Home Page, Manufacturing Engineering, People, Who We Are

International Women in Engineering Day 2023

Jaguar Land Rover Careers

Taara, an exceptional engineer, who is on a mission to inspire and encourage young women to break barriers and consider engineering as a fulfilling career choice. In her Q&A, Taara shares her personal experiences, successes, and lessons learned on her remarkable journey within JLR.

Join us as we celebrate International Women in Engineering Day with Taara and many incredible female engineers here at JLR.

Q: What position did you start in and what is your position now? Please describe your current responsibilities.

“In 2017 I joined JLR via the Women in the Know Course, which enrols you in the Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme (I prefer a practical approach rather than academic, so the apprenticeship was an ideal route into engineering). After interviewing and accepting, I worked as an apprentice in Powertrain for 4 years; completing placements in many areas such as Prototype Engine Build, Engine Test (rotating machine), Vehicle Workshop, and Emissions Certification.

After the scheme, I transitioned to Prototype Battery Build as a skilled technician; building and testing our prototype batteries in a high voltage environment. After 6 months in this role, I moved back to Emissions: here I supported our Chassis Dynometer Testing as an Analytical Measurement Technician. I learnt about our methods of testing emissions and how our testing equipment worked, including portable emissions on the back of a vehicle to get real driving emissions (RDE).

A year later, I moved into my current role testing our Powertrain Software. I wanted to experience the digital side of product development in the automotive industry. Part of my role is to aid the testing and creation of new Powertrain Software Features and their capabilities to ensure we deliver high quality products. Interacting with our vehicles is one of the highlights of my role and I’m proud to be involved in the process of creating them.”

Q: Are you involved in any other projects / networks? If so, please describe what they are and what your contributions are.

“In addition to my current role, I am on the Women in Engineering & Allie’s committee as an events lead. I get such enjoyment by bringing people together and can make a difference in the workplace while doing something I’m passionate about. The WiE&A’s Network really helped boost my career; I was supported by other female colleagues and given some great advice and opportunities, which is why I wanted to get involved and create further opportunities for other women within the field. I have previously had the opportunity to help with our STEM team, it’s so important for this industry to showcase all the great careers available and to have female representation. This is vital at a younger age for people to have to time to get invested. Currently within Propulsion, there is a great drive to diversify our teams; we are working together to promote the opportunities available and create a community. It’s a great department to be in! I’m looking forward to future events and engaging our engineering stakeholders to get their perspectives and involvement. Watch this space!”

Q: What do you like about working here?

“Every day I learn about a new opportunity or venture that JLR is exploring – no day is boring, and the company adapts to its everchanging demands.

It’s a challenge that we as engineers and technicians are excited about. This buzz and energy is what keeps me engaged.”

Q: What are your career aspirations? Do you feel that you get the necessary support from your management / department to help achieve your learning & development goal?

“I want to inspire people to have an enjoyable career similar to mine and to facilitate that, whether that’s as a manager or as a mentor, or even to lead a new test property project. Thankfully I have management who support this and ensure my career aspirations do not get lost in technical / product advancing. One of the things that attracted me to my current role was the involvement they had with our People Development Network (PDN). This network empowers individuals to upskill and achieve their career goals.”

Q: Describe your team / department, and what makes it stand out from our competition?

“My team have a great energy and approach to collaboration. We work transparently and in turn reap the rewards. Feeling able to speak up safely and talk about any issues creates a collaborative and group effort environment.  When you ask for help, it’s never an issue or annoyance but rather people are excited to share their knowledge or ask if you need a hand. Similarly, if anyone has an exciting idea that adds value. It’s celebrated and recognised. This has a great impact on my daily work. Feeling appreciated in the team can be hard for women in engineering, and thankfully I have only experienced support.”

Q: What hints and tips can you share with the potential candidates who are going through the application / interview process?

“I would say be authentic; it sounds stereotypical but that’s because there is truth to the statement. Transparency is something that JLR hold value in. You need to be proud of your academic / career journey and how far you have come. Even if you don’t 100% fit the job description, you can adapt and learn that extra 10 or 20%. Make sure you showcase that you are willing to learn and adapt (which is arguably more important than the 10 -20%). A good manager will recognise and want to develop your skills further.”

Explore opportunities here at JLR: click here

Apprentice, Body Engineering, Early Careers, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, Hints and Tips, Home Page, People, Technology, United Kingdom, Who We Are

“Physical training taught me that hard work and perseverance always pays off and that failure is just a route to success.”

Jaguar Land Rover Careers

Leah, Jaguar Land Rover degree apprentice, currently on her 6th-year placement in Electrification Services. In her spare time, Leah loves to train and regularly competes in Olympic Weightlifting and CrossFit.

Her top tip for you is ‘Back yourself and take time to understand your personal strengths and weaknesses. Think about the value that these skills will bring to Jaguar Land Rover and its mission.’

We recently conducted a short interview to found out a little bit more about Leah, both in and out of Jaguar Land Rover.

Q: What position did you start in and what is your position now? Please describe your current responsibilities. 

I am a 6th-year AEP Degree Apprentice and I am currently on placement in Electrification Services, whose mission is to improve the EV ownership experience for customers through services. I am specifically focussing on improving the accessibility of charging infrastructure, which requires understanding the needs of those traditionally excluded from the EV ownership experience and creating a solution to not only help the exception but improve the experience for everyone. I joined Jaguar Land Rover in my home department of Vehicle Safety, where I essentially crashed cars; planning and coordinating full vehicle and component tests to ensure the safety of our vehicles. I have had the pleasure of being involved in several other areas of the business on placements within Special Vehicle Operations, Critical Concerns, Manufacturing, and Circular Economy.

Q: Are you involved in any other projects / networks? If so, please describe what they are and what your contributions are. 

SHINE Network – I recently joined as a participator to reduce assumptions when designing for inclusivity. The network supports colleagues with disabilities, whether hidden, visible or both.

Women in Engineering – I attend their annual conference, where they aim to accelerate an inclusive future for women in engineering.

Q: What do you like about working here?

It is exciting to be involved with the company during such a huge change toward electrification and sustainability. The people I work with are truly passionate about their work and are invested in my growth.

Q: What are your career aspirations? Do you feel that you get the necessary support from your current management / department to help achieve your learning & development goal? 

I see myself moving to a management role within the business, I feel I am a natural leader and have the wider knowledge to understand the bigger picture of the company. There are not enough females in this industry, so I want to encourage more young women to join the sector by acting as a role model. I would like to mentor and guide others to becoming the best version of themselves both in Jaguar Land Rover and life too. I would love the opportunity to work overseas at some point, so if the opportunity were to present itself I would work to make it happen. I think the people around me are invested in my growth, so if I work hard to achieve this, then it will be possible.

Q: Describe your current team / department, and what makes it stand out from our competition? 

The common theme amongst the teams I have been in is their passion for the work they are undertaking. The team I am in now is truly passionate about improving the charging experience for customers and understands that this is vital for the success of the business. This belief will make the team work harder and more efficiently to achieve their objectives.

Q: Tell us 3 interesting facts about yourself.

In my spare time, I love to train and compete in Olympic Weightlifting and CrossFit, and I am a qualified personal trainer. Lifting is a huge passion of mine and is where most of my spare time goes. The gym teaches me that hard work and perseverance pays off and that failure is just a route to success. It also acts as stress relief on those busy work weeks!

Last year I completed some of my first solo travel trips abroad! My favourite place I have travelled to is Costa Rica, although I got stuck in customs on the way back due to some apparent dodgy fingerprints!

I also own a paddleboard that I take out with friends in the warmer months to take some time away from Instagram scrolling and into nature.

Q: What hints and tips can you share with the potential candidates who are going through the application / interview process? 

I was incredibly nervous when submitting my application, to the point that I nearly didn’t submit it as I thought ‘I wasn’t good enough’. Now I have taken time to understand my capabilities and value within the company, with some incredible mentors along the way. My biggest piece of advice is to back yourself and take time to understand your personal strengths and weaknesses. Think about the value that these skills will bring to Jaguar Land Rover and its mission.

Apply Jaguar Land Rover Apprenticeship Programmes here.

Apprentice, Engineering

“Working hands on with some of our best products is what inspires me the most.”

Jaguar Land Rover Careers

“As an apprentice training to be a Vehicle Technician at Jaguar Land Rover, I am inspired by working in an environment full of variously skilled people, who I can learn something new off to accelerate my learning and knowledge. Working hands on with some of our best products is what inspires me the most, knowing we can find innovative solutions to ensure the vehicles we produce are up to the best standard possible, following in that modern luxury step.

The future of JLR is what excites me most as we continue our journey into the modern luxury world. The new developments and designs all around the business ensure we are constantly learning, adapting and facing new, exciting challenges, allowing us to make a great impact and achieve our goals, no matter how big or small that challenge may be.”

Find out more about our latest opportunities here: Find a job (jaguarlandrovercareers.com)

Culture and Values, Diversity & Inclusion, Early Careers, Engineering, Graduate

“We design, engineer, manufacture and market beautiful vehicles. With that comes a real sense of pride for the brand and what we do.”

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Megan Howell joined Jaguar Land Rover in 2015 to study for a degree apprenticeship in Engineering. In 2021, Megan’s hard work, determination and commitment were acknowledged when she was awarded a First-Class Bachelor of Engineering degree with honours by the University of Warwick. 

At the start of her professional career as a Cost Engineer and hot on the heels of a listing in the Autocar Great Women in the British car industry 2022 initiative, Megan tells us why Jaguar Land Rover is a great place to work for Black talent.

  1. Why Jaguar Land Rover for Black talent?

Now is a really exciting time for Black talent to join Jaguar Land Rover. The automotive industry is not traditionally known for its diversity; however, Jaguar Land Rover has committed to changing this narrative. Jaguar Land Rover is the first UK car manufacturer to sign the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter and has partnered with a number of other external diversity bodies – most recently BYP. Over the next five years, Jaguar Land Rover’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, championed by our CEO Thierry Bollore, will see the company strive to shape “a culture in which every one of our employees can bring their authentic self to work and reach their full potential”. This will be bolstered by the implementation of progressive policies, benefits and support, along with employee engagement to accelerate progress.

All of these D&I initiatives paired with our global Reimagine strategy see Jaguar Land Rover entering an era of true internal and external transformation. There is a lot of change on the horizon and more opportunity than ever before. For Black talent wanting to be part of that evolution and passionate about becoming trailblazers for upcoming BYPs, I think it’s a great place to be right now.

2. What do you like about working here?

It’s great working on two internationally recognised brands that are pioneering modern luxury. We design, engineer, manufacture and market beautiful vehicles. With that comes a real sense of pride for the brand and what we do.

I like how multi-faceted the company is in terms of the job roles, working environments and experience available. Different functions attract and cultivate different skills, personality types and ideas. It’s great seeing the cross-functional collaboration that happens to deliver an amazing end product every time.  I really enjoy that in my job role, I interface with a lot of these functions.

3. How does the REACH (Race, Ethnicity & Cultural Heritage) network enhance life at Jaguar Land Rover?

The Jaguar Land Rover REACH employee network will be celebrating its 4th birthday this September. The network exists to champion employees from all races and ethnicities to be equally represented and celebrated across Jaguar Land Rover. Racial equality is also a high priority to Jaguar Land Rover senior leaders, with a clear target to increase ethnic representation by 15% across all levels of our business by 2026. Working closely with core stakeholders across the business, the REACH network will be instrumental in creating initiatives to help Jaguar Land Rover achieve this target.

As a member of the committee and Communications Lead, I love that I get to play such an active part in Jaguar Land Rover’s journey toward becoming a more inclusive business. It is a huge amount of work but super rewarding and looking after the comms, branding and marketing activities for the network allows me to use and develop skills in an area that I’m passionate about.

We run four core types of events – Lunch & Learns (to educate and open conversations), Roadshows (to build awareness of REACH and its fundamentals around the business), Mastermind Series (to provide networking and development) and Change Makers (to improve employee work experience). We have a Yammer page and curate a monthly newsletter along with holding events and celebrations for various cultural occasions throughout the year. We have an internal mentorship scheme and also partner with local educational bodies to encourage bringing diverse talent into the business, in addition to actively encouraging the progression of diverse talent.

The REACH network has enhanced my life at Jaguar Land Rover, and I’ve heard the same from many others. I only wish I had known about it when I first joined! However, this is a part of the work we are doing with our Roadshows and partnerships with Early Careers to raise awareness. The sense of unity and reward that comes from being a member of the committee, building it from the ground up and bringing people together is amazing. As a member of REACH, I get to expand my network and meet like-minded people from across the business who want to have a more meaningful experience at work. REACH makes work feel a bit more like home.

4. How does Jaguar Land Rover empower employees?

Where applicable, Jaguar Land Rover had maintained flexibility on hybrid working after the benefits seen on wellbeing when it started during the pandemic.

Our employee-led networks help foster our culture of empowerment. If you just want to clock in, do your hours, and clock out that’s fine – but if you want to push yourself to do more there are chances to get yourself more involved.

To view our profile on BYP, click here.

Apprentice, Early Careers, People

Life of a Jaguar Land Rover Apprentice, What You Need to Know. Part two.

Jaguar Land Rover Careers

I’m delighted to say that things are going well. I’m doing well at college, I recently had my behavioural review with my Work Based Learning Manager, which went well and was an excellent opportunity to get to know him better, which I really appreciated.

Since our last post, I’ve been in what’s called HE. HE is the academic portion of my foundation degree, with classes in Maths, Electrical Principles, Automotive Technology and Materials. I enjoy these lessons, the classes are small and I get to ask lots of questions if I don’t understand a topic or specific area of study. The lecturers are all ex-engineers, something I didn’t expect when I first came here. Many of my lecturers have experience in the automotive industry and I think this benefits us as apprentices, as being able to learn from these motivated, dedicated professionals gives us a great example and contributes to a better working and learning environment.

After HE, before we broke up for Christmas, I had a practical block: Automotive Electrical Maintenance. In this block I learned about the electrical components of an internal combustion engine, primarily the starter motor and alternator. I think I’m really benefiting from the teaching methods employed at the college. Learning the theory and then going straight into practical blocks really helps deepen my understanding, as I get to see first-hand the application of the engineering principles I’m learning about.

I returned to work after Christmas on January 2nd to a health and wellbeing event put on by the college and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). This was, by my estimation, truly excellent. The past three days have been eye-opening in parts, profound in others, and very beneficial to me and to the wider apprentice cohort. The JLR Info team, who are based at the college and who organised the event, had listened to suggestions made by apprentices after the induction week back in September, and organised the event so that we moved between presentations from the invited speakers in smaller groups, as opposed to us all being in the conference room for the entire event.

I really appreciated that the organisers of the event had listened to feedback intently, and had acted upon that information. I think this is reflective of the attitude that our managers have towards us as apprentices, we are treated as professionals that have ideas to contribute, we’re treated as valuable assets, as part of the team.

One of the key reasons I chose to join Jaguar Land Rover, ahead of other organisations, was the biography of Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering, written on the Jaguar Land Rover Corporate website. This biography details Nick Rogers’ career at JLR, who I discovered began as an apprentice in 1984. This fact that an apprentice could rise to the executive level suggested to me that Jaguar Land Rover fosters an environment of respect for apprentices and trust in their capabilities. The health and wellbeing event proved this to me; Jaguar Land Rover cares about each and every one of us as individuals.

At the event, representatives from HSBC gave us advice on how to use our pay to save for a home and retirement, we had sessions on Drug, Alcohol & Gambling addiction, and we were introduced to BEN, a charity that offers support to members of the automotive industry. BEN concentrates on 4 elements of health and wellbeing, physical, mental, social and even financial health and wellbeing. We had a powerful session delivered by Warwickshire Fire Department called the Fatal Four about the four actions that lead to deaths in road traffic accidents; speed, distractions, not wearing a seatbelt and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This session was truly harrowing in places, graphic and made me think a lot about the risks involved when driving, in a group of our size, I do not think it unreasonable to suggest that this session could save lives.

My favourite parts of the health and wellbeing event were two presentations from current JLR employees. The first was from an employee who joined the army at aged 17, fought in Iraq and Afghanistan but suffered with stage 4 post-traumatic stress disorder. He spoke to us about competing at the Invictus Games, his recovery and journey to working at JLR. The day after we heard from another employee about the support JLR gives to its employees about stress and the work which is done to promote good health and wellbeing.

I’d like to leave this month with a quote that I think epitomises the Health and Wellbeing event. This quote was mentioned in an email from Dr. Ralf Speth to all employees on World Mental Health Day 2018: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together”

Callum Redmond, Jaguar Land Rover Degree Apprentice