JLR announces big plans and investment into its future electrification strategy

Britain’s largest carmaker is gearing up for its transition to become an electric-only vehicle manufacturer by 2030.

Work is being made in the company to transform electric vehicle production, with 11,000 employees currently being trained to work on them.

Every year, JLR’s Learning Academy Programme invests around £20 million a year to train its workers. A further 15,000 employees are set to become qualified throughout the manufacturing, engineering and workshops.

Currently, 95 per cent of the firm’s global retail technicians are qualified to work on EVs.

For the 2024 financial year, the manufacturer is expanding its skill base by opening a further 950 electrification roles in engineering.

JLR retail master technician Chloe Taylor 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.”

EV production is more accessible to a wider network or people who can be trained up in a shorter period of time, said JLR. EV work is often more focused on process-oriented approaches rather than manual labour, it said.

Barbara Bergmeier, JLR executive director of industrial operations said: “Our plans to electrify our ultra desirable modern luxury brands are unfolding at speed and I’m delighted with the pace that our Future Skills Programme is readying our talented workforce.”

JLR has further introduced initiatives to help more people into their manufacturing production careers such as a work experience programme with 2,000 enrolments, a school partnership programme and AI training to make job description wording more diverse and inclusive.