JLR Recruiting 1,400 Workers for U.K. Engine Plant

Jaguar Land Rover launches a campaign to recruit 1,400 workers for its new £500 million ($821.4 million) engine production center near Wolverhampton, U.K.

The first phase will see the creation of about 600 manufacturing roles in the next four years at the plant 145 miles (233 km) northwest of London.

With JLR bringing engine supply back to its production doorstep, the new workers will be required to help build the brand’s new family of high-technology, low-emission engines.

The state-of-the-art facility is JLR’s first to be entirely designed and specified by the automaker. At almost 1.08 million sq.-ft. (100,000 sq.-m), the plant includes an engine-testing center alongside the manufacturing and assembly halls.

The center will be the home for a new generation of technologically advanced, lightweight 4-cyl. diesel and gasoline engines. The first new model to use the new engines will be an all-new midsize sports sedan to be launched in 2015.

Operations Director Trevor Leeks says the new hires will be responsible for assembling engine components and operating the plant’s production equipment, supporting tool changes and material line feed.

“Our new engine manufacturing center is a significant strand of Jaguar Land Rover’s global growth ambitions and it is critical that we have a world-class manufacturing team at the heart of our new plant,” Leeks says in a statement.

“We are entering the next phase of the program with our small team moving onsite just last week. Today, we are starting to build our operational team for the future with the launch of our recruitment campaign.”

JLR is working with local and county governments to train unemployed Wolverhampton-area people in acquiring skills required at the plant. A 6-week training program will cover topics such as enhanced literacy and numeracy skills, how to approach competency-based interviews, team exercises and interview preparation.

The center now has about 100 employees including 18 apprentices and six graduates. In addition to the manufacturing jobs at the plant, JLR is hiring for a range of engineering and supervisory roles.