More than 20,000 Jaguar Land Rover staff now trained for EV future

• Jaguar Land Rover ‘upskilling’ workforce for new electric cars
• Almost all partner technicians now trained to work on EVs
• More than 2,400 manufacturing staff with EV skills
• Work underway to train 11,000 more
• EV work ‘more accessible’ says JLR
• Comes along with initiatives to diversify STEM careers

Jaguar Land Rover may only sell one fully electric car at the moment, but it’s carefully preparing for a fully electrified future. The company announced ‘significant progress’ in its drive to train its employees for this change in the motoring landscape, with strides made towards JLR staff being ready to manufacture, sell, and service electric cars.

So far, more than 20,000 employees have been trained through the ‘Future Skills’ programme. This includes more than 2,400 manufacturing employees in UK production facilities, nearly 3,000 engineers, and more than 95% of the brand’s partner technicians, ensuring that retailers and workshops are set up to service and repair the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover-branded electric cars.

More than 11,000 further employees are also in training, with a further 15,000 targeted across manufacturing, engineering and workshops.

It’s an essential move for the company, and one that most manufacturers will need to make as the motoring landscape gradually transitions from petrol and diesel models, through hybrids and plug-in hybrids and eventually into the majority of cars on sale being fully electric. By 2035 the UK government aims that no combustion-powered cars will be sold at all.

JLR says this shift can be seen as a good thing for its service staff, with electrification “creating more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds”. It says that, as maintaining or repairing an EV is often more focused on processes and step-by-step approaches rather than brute force or manual labour, it’s more accessible to a wider range of employees.

Chloe Taylor, a retail master technician who works at a Sytner partnership, said: “The transition to EVs presents lots of learning opportunities, shifting from much of the heavy part lifting associated with ICE vehicles, to more process-driven, technology-centred diagnostics work. I hope this shift will encourage more women to follow my path.”

JLR has also introduced a number of initiatives aimed at diversifying those in STEM careers. A virtual work experience programme currently has more than 600 women enrolled, and the firm’s even using AI to reword job descriptions to be more diverse and inclusive.