JAGUAR LAND ROVER EXTENDS ARMED FORCES RECRUITMENT TO RETAILER NETWORK

8 March 2018

Jaguar Land Rover is helping ex‑servicemen and women find new careers as technicians in its UK retailer network.

  • Expanded technician programme will help ex‑services find jobs with Jaguar Land Rover retailers
  • Second wave of technician training follows successful pilot in which six ex‑military personnel secured UK retail network roles
  • Programme is the next phase of Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to become the automotive employer of choice for ex‑military
  • Jaguar Land Rover has employed more than 750 ex‑service personnel since 2013 and remains committed to its target of 1,000 armed forces recruits by 2020

Whitley, 8th March 2018 – Jaguar Land Rover is helping ex‑servicemen and women find new careers as technicians in its UK retailer network.

The training programme, run with forces' charity Mission Motorsport, is part of Jaguar Land Rover's commitment to employ 1,000 former military personnel by 2020. A three‑week intensive course will help those who have served their country transfer their valuable skills to the retailer network of Britain’s biggest carmaker.

This intensive, fast‑track programme aims to capture the unique and transferable skills of armed forces personnel, giving them an opportunity to forge new careers as retail vehicle technicians. It addresses the challenges of supporting military into civilian careers while providing our retailers with the highest calibre of staff.

Phil Cannell
Jaguar Land Rover’s Technical Academy Manager

Jaguar_Land_Rover_Military_Retail_Employees

Technical, electronic and mechanical training is held at the Jaguar Land Rover Academy in Warwickshire. The expanded project follows a successful pilot in late 2017, which saw six technicians recruited by Jaguar Land Rover retailers.

Joshua Gelder joined the military at 17 and now works at Inchcape Land Rover in Chester after training on the pilot scheme. He said: “I applied for the opportunity because I knew Jaguar Land Rover had a strong connection with the military. I wanted to find something that would develop the skills I had gained in the military and allow me to feel part of a team again. The course really helped take my practical and theoretical skills to the next level.”

Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network
Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network
Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network
Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network
Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network
Jaguar Land Rover extends armed forces recruitment to retail network

This initiative represents a partnership between Jaguar Land Rover, Mission Motorsport and our retailers across the country. The project is the first time that we’ve looked directly at how we can link our ex‑service personnel in this way with vehicle technician roles and we’re really pleased to see these people have settled in so well in their new jobs.

We’d like to thank the retailers who have already signed up to this initiative. They’ve got some great technicians.

Rob Lummis
Head of Employee Experiences at Jaguar Land Rover

Simon Broughton, Head of Business at Hatfields in Liverpool, has employed two new technicians. He said: “For us to employ and train someone for a level two technician role would usually take around a year, so this programme is fantastic in securing the right people, in a timely way, to support our customers. 

“Ex‑forces personnel are very focused and structured thanks to the environment they’ve come from. Other retailers should consider signing up for this because the experience has been nothing but positive.”

Mission Motorsport  has worked with Jaguar Land Rover since 2014 helping them develop their pioneering Armed Forces Engagement Programme that has helped 800 service leavers find employment. The expansion of this initiative, finding nationwide opportunities for service leavers and veterans in the national retail network, is another step forward.

/ENDS/

Notes to Editors

About Jaguar Land Rover’s Commitment for Service Leavers

  • Jaguar Land Rover publicly pledged to become an employer of choice for service leavers by signing the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant in July 2014
  • The company has employed more than 750 ex‑service personnel since 2013 and remains committed to its target of 1,000 armed forces recruits by 2020
  • The commitments are overseen by a committee chaired at senior level, with members from across the business including armed forces veterans
  • As well as welcoming direct entry applications for employment from members of the armed forces, Jaguar Land Rover also offers innovative placements
  • Wherever possible, applicants can sample different areas of the company before making a commitment to a particular role. These placements help ex‑servicemen and women find the right jobs. As a result they work in roles across virtually every function of the business.
  • The company is particularly proud of its programme for wounded, injured or sick (WIS) serviceman and women. This initiative, part of Jaguar Land Rover’s ongoing involvement with the Invictus Games, enables applicants to look at vocational options to suit their particular limitations.

About Mission Motorsport

The Forces' Motorsport Charity, whose motto is Race Retrain Recover” is the MoD's competent authority for motorsport as a recovery activity, and is a Royal Foundation (the charitable trust of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry) Endeavour Fund initiative. A Service Charity and a member of the Confederation of Service Charities, Mission Motorsport has an award‑winning collaborative model of working with government and the other service charities. It is funded by Help For Heroes and The Royal British Legion as well as by industry partners and independent fundraising.

As part of the MoD's Career Transition Partnership, the charity helps those leaving the military to find employment in the automotive industry. A City and Guilds training provider, Mission Motorsport's Training Wing delivers Level 3 Diploma courses and full apprenticeships enabling service leavers to bridge the gap between military service and second careers as civilians, beyond injury.

In its five years of operations, Mission Motorsport has delivered more than 4,000 training days of sport for 1,400 wounded, injured or sick beneficiaries, leading to over 230 placements and over 100 jobs.

For more info:  team@missionmotorsport.org