Jaguar Land Rover reveals plans to recruit 1,000 electronic and software engineers
- Autor:Ella Cai
- Solte em:2017-06-22
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed plans to recruit 1,000 electronics and software engineers as part of a huge recruitment drive.
The car maker, which is owned by Indian group Tata, has said that it plans to recruit around 5,000 people this year, to add to its workforce of 40,000, in what is being seen as a boost for UK manufacturing as the country prepares to leave the EU.
The recruitment drive follows JLR’s best-ever year for sales in 2016, when it sold more than 583,000 vehicles, with more than 80% of vehicles produced in the UK being sold abroad.
In a bid to attract engineers to the business, JLR has launched an app featuring the animated electronic music group Gorillaz that includes a game designed to test players’ problem-solving skills.
Players who beat the game, which includes a series of code-breaking puzzles and is themed around Jaguar’s i-PACE concept electric sports car, will be fast-tracked through JLR’s recruitment process.
The game on the app is fronted by Gorillaz’s female guitarist, a character called Noodle, who is also the fact of a STEM initiative launched by JLR with Gorillaz in 2016 to help address the engineering skills gap.
Alex Heslop, head of electrical engineering at JLR, said: “As the automotive industry transforms over the next decade, fuelled by software innovation, we have to attract the best talent and that requires a radical rethink of how we recruit.
“Here we’ve found an engaging way to recruit a diverse talent pool in software systems, cyber systems, app development and graphics performance.”
JLR is the latest major engineering employer to announce big recruitment plans in the UK, adding to a trend that has been touted as a vote of confidence in the UK’s prospects post-Brexit.
Amazon is looking for 400 engineers in Cambridge to develop AI and drones, as part of plans to recruit around 5,000 extra staff across the UK. Google, meanwhile, is planning to add 3,000 staff at a new headquarters in London, while Apple is also building a team to develop GPU technology in London.
Dyson, too, has big plans to expand its UK operations with a second UK research centre in Wiltshire on a 517-acre site that is close to its existing HQ.
The company – famed for its vacuum cleaners but now active in a wide range of consumer product areas – also launched an online game earlier this year to help engage with, and select, engineers. Called ‘Smart Rooms’, and built on the theme of connected homes, the game offered successful players the chance to meet Dyson CEO Max Conze.
It also ran a Crystal Maze-style recruitment event earlier this year in another novel approach to the recruitment challenge.
The car maker, which is owned by Indian group Tata, has said that it plans to recruit around 5,000 people this year, to add to its workforce of 40,000, in what is being seen as a boost for UK manufacturing as the country prepares to leave the EU.
The recruitment drive follows JLR’s best-ever year for sales in 2016, when it sold more than 583,000 vehicles, with more than 80% of vehicles produced in the UK being sold abroad.
In a bid to attract engineers to the business, JLR has launched an app featuring the animated electronic music group Gorillaz that includes a game designed to test players’ problem-solving skills.
Players who beat the game, which includes a series of code-breaking puzzles and is themed around Jaguar’s i-PACE concept electric sports car, will be fast-tracked through JLR’s recruitment process.
The game on the app is fronted by Gorillaz’s female guitarist, a character called Noodle, who is also the fact of a STEM initiative launched by JLR with Gorillaz in 2016 to help address the engineering skills gap.
Alex Heslop, head of electrical engineering at JLR, said: “As the automotive industry transforms over the next decade, fuelled by software innovation, we have to attract the best talent and that requires a radical rethink of how we recruit.
“Here we’ve found an engaging way to recruit a diverse talent pool in software systems, cyber systems, app development and graphics performance.”
JLR is the latest major engineering employer to announce big recruitment plans in the UK, adding to a trend that has been touted as a vote of confidence in the UK’s prospects post-Brexit.
Amazon is looking for 400 engineers in Cambridge to develop AI and drones, as part of plans to recruit around 5,000 extra staff across the UK. Google, meanwhile, is planning to add 3,000 staff at a new headquarters in London, while Apple is also building a team to develop GPU technology in London.
Dyson, too, has big plans to expand its UK operations with a second UK research centre in Wiltshire on a 517-acre site that is close to its existing HQ.
The company – famed for its vacuum cleaners but now active in a wide range of consumer product areas – also launched an online game earlier this year to help engage with, and select, engineers. Called ‘Smart Rooms’, and built on the theme of connected homes, the game offered successful players the chance to meet Dyson CEO Max Conze.
It also ran a Crystal Maze-style recruitment event earlier this year in another novel approach to the recruitment challenge.
