Jaguar Landrover's mission since it was founded by William Lyons in 1922 has been a commitment to create and build beautiful cars. They are also committed to building the careers of some 162 apprentices who are currently engaged on four-year programmes across their four main sites in the WestMidlands in the UK.


Diversity Inclusion Critical

Jaguar Landrover employs around 15,000 people in Britain and the organisation feels a strong responsibility to employ individuals irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation or belief. They have taken on fifty-three apprentices this year, who will spend the majority of their first year at City College Coventry learning amongst other things; basic engineering, health & safety and employment rights and responsibilities.

Apprentice Programme

Apprentices sign up to a 42-month programme which will teach them essential technical skills, give them experience of the business and the diverse career paths that are available within Jaguar Landrover. Following their first year they are placed in a 'home area' and allocated a line manager in one of four sections; maintenance, product development, manufacturing engineering and paint shop. They then attend college on a¡¥day release¡¦ basis once a week.

As apprentices move into their third and fourth years,if they have done particularly well they have the opportunity of studying towards a Foundation Degree in Engineering in conjunction with City College Coventry and Coventry University. Jaguar Landrover has forged close links with City College Coventry, having worked with them for over ten years to deliver apprenticeship programmes. Currently, the college enjoys an exclusive relationship with Jaguar Landrover as the sole supplier of apprenticeship programmes to the organisation.

Lloyd Neal, Apprentice Team Leader and an ex-apprentice himself is the main liaison between Jaguar Landrover and City College Coventry. He explains a few more details concerning the ins and outs of the apprenticeship programme:

¡§The apprenticeship programme in conjunction with the college is purely set up for Jaguar Landrover. We have a formal structured review every two weeks and I visit the college once a week to carry out one-to-one meetings with students, visit the workshops and to pick up on any issues.¡¨ Gearing up quality careers with Jaguar Landrover City College Coventry also provides apprenticeship training for Jaguar Landrover and has done for over a decade.

Fostering Ties Between Industry and Education

Neal also highlights the importance of building ties between the educational sector and industry, ¡§I have good relationships with both the Head of School for Engineering, Glenn Laurence and the Work Based Learning Manager, Diane Grover who is outstanding. The systems and procedures we have in place ensure that things run smoothly and a good relationship is fostered.¡¨ Neal adds, ¡§The reason why apprenticeships are the main route into a career in Jaguar Landrover is because of its long and proud history of this kind of training programme.

We almost have an¡¥Apprenticeship Club.¡¦We have found that by involving young people at an early stage of their careers we have been able to shape them to become valued employees. They learn the processes and culture of the organisation and grow with it. They develop an ingrained passion for Jaguar Landrover.¡¨

Because so many of the senior managers within Jaguar Landrover have been apprentices themselves, new apprentices are welcomed with open arms. Managers find it easier to relate to what apprentices are working on and the issues that may arise as they have been in their shoes some years before and can offer some sound advice and mentoring.


So outstanding is the work of Jaguar Landrover with its apprentices, that they have recently been privileged to two VIP visits from British Prime Minister,Gordon Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling who were fascinated by their training programmes and quizzed apprentices about why they had chosen the apprenticeship path and what was involved with the work based learning approach. Neal adds, ¡§These were brilliant opportunities for the apprentices to tell the Prime Minister about what they had been working on and why they had chosen the apprenticeship route. I think both the students and the ministers got a lot out of the meetings. The students were a credit to the organisation. One student thanked me for the opportunity to be part of one of the sessions as he felt without being part of Jaguar Landrover, it would have been something he would never have experienced.¡¨

Corporate Social Responsibility

Many apprentices getting towards the end of their training are embracing the concept of corporate social responsibility and are starting to get involved in spreading the positive message of apprenticeships into local schools in the hope that it will encourage others to follow in their footsteps. The apprentices are talking to groups of children about what is involved with an apprenticeship programme and giving tips on how to prepare for applications and interviews should they wish to follow the same path.

Getting into the Gen-Y Mindset

As we head forward, and prepare for large numbers of Gen-Y entering the workforce it is more important than ever for HR managers to get in touch with what goes on in the minds of school leavers. James Lambert, 18 and Danielle Holmes,19 are both first year apprentices at Jaguar Landrover and feel very proud to be part of the apprenticeship programme, having been one of only 53 students to be recruited out of over eight hundred applications.

James said, ¡§We had to do a maths test and undergo an assessment day. The day included an interview, team exercise, mechanical and logic tests. It was really involved and I was so pleased to get through.¡¨

Danielle had been interested in an apprenticeship in vehicle engineering since she was at school, having been placed at an engineering firm during some work experience. ¡§I really enjoyed it and knew this was what I wanted to do. It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to work for Jaguar Landrover. Doing an apprenticeship means that I can study and get paid to work as well, which gives me the best of both worlds. They treat you like adults here which makes you feel more respected and a real change from school.¡¨


To find out more about what drives the success of the programme, HR Magazine interviewed Glenn Laurence, Head of School of Engineering & Vehicle Technologies at Coventry College in the UK.

HR: How did you get involved with Coventry College and the Jaguar Apprenticeship Programme?

I¡¦ve been in education for about 28 years now. I went to college via the apprenticeship route in the motor vehicle field¡K I was in the industry for quite a few years. Then at the age of 26, I came into teaching as a lecturer with Coventry College. Since then I¡¦ve worked up through the system until I became Head of School for Engineering and Vehicle Technologies,which is quite a big school now.

The areas of work that we cover are light vehicle mechanical work, light vehicle body work, PSV industry (bus and coach repair), maintenance and on the engineering front we cover electronics, engineering, basic engineering, foundation degree, and we¡¦ve gota partnership with Jaguar Landrover.

HR: How big is your faculty?

In the whole school I have about 28 staff in total, and of those there are around 20 dedicated staff working with the Apprenticeship Programme.

HR: How did the Apprenticeship Programme evolve between Coventry College and Jaguar Landrover?

We¡¦ve been running training programmes for many years, and over the past few years, we¡¦ve been working quite closely together with Jaguar/Landrover, helping with enrolment of their first year apprentices, and also the design and content of the foundation degree which we run for them. We tend to get involved at the application stage, so we help with recruitment of students with a maths tests among other things. We run the first year block-training full time at college here then in the second year they go into Jaguar/Landrover on a day-release basis. We support them by offering outward bound courses in addition to various seminars within the college and within the company.

The system has continually improved as the years have gone on, because we¡¦ve involved the company in writing units for the foundation degree which reflects what really goes on within the company, so it¡¦s tying in what goes on in education with what goes on within the company and as well. So it¡¦s very much an active partnership, with both ends contributing.

HR: How many applicants does the programme attracteach year?

Jaguar Landrover this year had something in the region of 650 applicants for the first year apprenticeship programme, of which they took only about 52 apprentices on. Most of them are male, it's always difficult to get females to come into engineering in general, but there is an active policy there to have diversity across the spectrum.

HR: What key qualities are Jaguar Landrover looking for in potential apprentices?

They insist on 4 GCSE [the UK¡¦s equivalent to Form 5 examinations] grade Cs or above as a starting point. then they¡¦re called in for a short test in college with an additional maths test, and then they have one-to-one interviews with Jaguar/Landrover managers.Then applicants progress on to team-building exercises and various other disciplines within the process to try and identify various aspects of students¡¦ characters: team builders, team players, able to interact with people, able to communicate clearly. In fact, there¡¦s quite a series of things that Jaguar Landrover look for to ensure that candidates are the right fit for their corporate culture.

When they¡¦re in college, they all wear the corporate overalls and work-wear, which is green with Jaguar/ Landrover on. It is reinforced that whether they are at college or out of college, they are always representing Jaguar Landrover. So whatever they do, it will reflect upon Jaguar/Landrover. The culture is set in very early on.

HR: What are the major benefits for companies getting involved in similar types of apprentice programmes?

Well the time and effort that they put into the selection process does reflect in the caliber of the candidates as they come out and start their apprenticeships. The students themselves are fully aware of where they¡¦re going, what is expected of them, and what they can get out of the company if they put the effort into it. There is clear progression within the company.

HR: What are the greatest challenges in training studentsfor today¡¦s workforce?

Technology: the advance in technology. It¡¦s about keeping up with the technology, which is coming into the engineering environment and the motor vehicle environment and other sectors. It¡¦s definitely keeping up with technology, which is advancing so quickly thatit¡¦s hard to train students. We train them in a lot of the basic skills which obviously they still need to have. As technology is advancing at an amazing pace now, it¡¦s about keeping up to date and it¡¦s about having students who are willing to keep up to date as well. It¡¦s a continuous process of development. Having companies like Jaguar Landrover really helps because they bring cutting edge industry knowledge into the classroom and they also provide us with key pieces of equipment that we actually need for the programme.

HR: Do you see a growing trend for companies working together with colleges and universities and setting up apprentice programmes?

Yes I do. It is the way forward, we have to work very closely with companies and where possible meet the needs of the industry for specific companies.

Hong Kong HR Managers should take note, as it seems major benefits can be gained from strengthening ties between industry and education sectors.Learn more about the Jaguar Landrover apprentice programme at the ¡¥Skills for Employability Forum'to be held at the British Council on the 11 and 12 February 2009. The forum will bring together HR professionals,educational practitioners and government policy makers to share ideas and best practices on how best to get people prepared for the world of work (see pages 12-13 for event details).