Using its educational programmes, Jaguar Land Rover will provide school children from around the Midlands and Northwest with an insight into the world of advanced engineering and manufacturing.
Throughout the remainder of October Jaguar Land Rover's Educational Business Partnership Centres, located at each of the company's engineering and advanced manufacturing plants, will provide more than 120 year 10 and 11 students with a hands on programme of activities.
These include CAD CAM and safety test challenges, a tour of the respective sites and essential guidance on interviews and CV writing as they prepare to make critical decisions about their futures.
'See Inside Manufacturing' is a collaborative initiative between the UK's manufacturers and Government to promote manufacturing excellence, challenge perceptions of the industry and dispel the myth that Britain no longer 'makes anything'.
Business secretary Vince Cable said: "For too many young people the word manufacturing is a turn off. A worrying poll out last week found that only one out of ten children aged 11 to 14 thought that engineering was an important job and even ranked being a politician as a better choice of career!
"We are determined to shake up old fashioned views of manufacturing. Through the Government's See Inside Manufacturing campaign and Jaguar Land Rover's national activities, we will give young people the chance to see the exciting face of modern manufacturing which is highly skilled, high tech and highly paid."
Pushing the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math's) agenda has long been a firm priority for Jaguar Land Rover as demonstrated by it being the first car manufacturer in the UK to achieve the highly regarded CommunityMark.
Commenting on the company's involvement in 'See Inside Manufacturing', Mike Wright, Jaguar Land Rover's executive director said: "This initiative is a clear indication of the value advanced manufacturing has to the UK economy and as the UK's largest investor in automotive research and development Jaguar Land Rover has a critical role to play in pushing the skills agenda. Only through engagement with young people, be it at school or university, can we develop a truly capable and skilled work force able to compete on a global stage.
"That is why Jaguar Land Rover has for many years operated a structured suite of activities at its five Partnership Centres and a package of comprehensive educational programmes - including the 'Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Challenge' and the recently launched' Jaguar Primary Schools Challenge'. These initiatives reached almost 13,000 school children in the UK last year and we will continue to invest heavily to ensure we provide more young people with inspirational experiences that showcase the immense benefits of a career in this most challenging and exciting of industries."
