Jaguar Land Rover announces start of i54 jobs campaign

Eventually the factory on the i54 site, on the border of Wolverhampton and south Staffordshire, will employ 1,400 staff, but the company says it will take several years to build up to full strength.

The first phase of recruitment follows completion of the main building at the £500 million Engine Manufacturing Centre, where plant and production machinery are now being installed.

Speaking to the Express & Star today in his first media interview, the new boss at the site, operations director Trevor Leeks, said: "The recruitment of the first 600 semi-skilled associates is starting today and will go on for the next few years.

"Eventually there will be 1,400 people working here but the timescale will depend on sales and demand over the coming years.

"We are installing equipment today. Our team only moved in here on Thursday last week but this time next year the first engines will be going into new cars.

"The framework for what will be the petrol engine assembly area is already up and we are currently installing equipment in the diesel engine assembly hall and in the manufacturing area.

"It's going in at a fantastic rate. We're laying down the assembly line which is going in like Scalextric, and we're putting in machinery behind that.

"It's changing day by day as more equipment is installed."

New four-cylinder diesel engines for a 'baby' Jaguar saloon, due to be unveiled later this year, will start rolling off the production in 12 months time.

Between now and then, JLR will be installing production equipment and training its newly recruited workers.

Manufacturing of engine blocks, heads and crankshafts is expected to start in March or April, with the first engines assembled for testing around July or August.

"We will then be ramping up volume to produce the first engines for our first vehicles in January," said Mr Leeks.

Petrol engine variants will follow around 18 months later. Work on the petrol engine assembly area is still in the early stages but once it is completed there will be another surge in recruitment on the site.

JLR says it is working with councils, colleges and Jobcentre Plus on a six-week skills development programme to give unemployed people the chance at one of the new manufacturing jobs.

Mr Leeks added: "Our new Engine Manufacturing Centre 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.

Today, we are starting to build our operational team for the future with the launch of our recruitment campaign. "We are looking for dedicated, committed and passionate people to join the Jaguar Land Rover team at the Engine Manufacturing Centre."

The team it has started to recruit will be responsible for the assembly of engine components, operation of the plant's manufacturing equipment, supporting tool changes and material line feed. Jaguar Land Rover says it has worked with Wolverhampton City Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council to create a tailored training programme for local unemployed people.

JLR says there are also additional opportunities available in a range of engineering and supervisory roles.

To apply for a position at the Engine Manufacturing Centre, visit the website at www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com